Teen Monsters, Go!
by Indentity.Classified
Summary: This is the story of Raven and Beast Boy's daughter, Mortalia, who is new to Monster High and, just like pretty much all of my characters, is a total Freshmen. She's not looking for attention and just wants to have fun with her best friend and boyfriend.
1. Intro

*{Introduction}

The ghoul walked into school, her wild untamable dark purple curls hidden by her oversized onyx colored hood and her newly bought sleek looking cheetah pumps with the skinny black heels covering her pale grey skinned feet. Although she could never admit it to her father, Garfield Mark Logan, nicknamed Beast Boy for his shape shifting powers, she'd much rather be wearing all black colored high-top converse. But, of course, even if she _did _admit this to her father, it wasn't as if he'd listen. He wanted to send his precious daughter off to Monster High in _style _with every inch of high fashion to her name. What he hadn't considered as he dragged her clothes shopping, that she'd been much more like her mother. A bit cold and nonsocial, isolate and reserved – as in _kept to herself_. Just as her mother, she hadn't wanted to draw attention. What good could attention of any kind do her? And today had to be the day she stepped foot outside in tower tall high heeled pumps, walking as if she hadn't learned how…  
"Thanks a lot dad," she mumbled to herself, hidden in her onyx rode that thankful didn't touch the glossy light purple, dark purple checkered floors and hid her too tall high heels. "Much appreciated, as always…"  
She looked away just as jocks in costumed Monster High lettermen jackets passed her. A few whistled, engaging her while somewhat complimenting her. She sighs, feeling timid and bitter.  
Let's just say that she didn't appreciate the gesture.  
"Hey, cool your jets." A familiar voice approached her, beckoned to her rescue. She lifted her head for the first time all morning, matching the familiar voice to the familiar face. As she had guessed, it'd been the very person she'd been searching for since the Freshmen Monster Orientation started at nine o'clock sharp this morning.  
"I've been looking for you," she said with a wide smile as she begun to stand in an attack stance. "Where have you been?"  
"Sorry I got a little lost on the way to the manster's room." The manster replied, spreading his arms in prepare for her tackle. He caught her, stumbled back just a bit. His smile too was wide and uplifting.  
The ghoul pulled away to look up at her best friend. As always, he'd been so very adorable with his deep bright blue skin with its even darker strips and his big stand out-ish ears. Just like yesterday and the day before, his nose had been fairly flat and wide with a soft pink animal tip, his eyes big and bright yellow, while his feminine cheekbones stood out just a bit in comparison to his overall facial profile. And just as before, when she looked at him she was reminded of a young Michael Jackson with crazy jet black curly hair. She stared at her Avatar, Michael Jackson look-a-like friend in awe, a beaming smile on her round face.  
"Well, what's your schedule? I need to know what classes we have together!" she said, somewhat excited as she searched around in the front pockets of her black shoulder bag. Finally, she pulled out her balled up schedule that had all her classes, and more.  
The boy reached into the back pocket of his pale, faded demine jeans. After a moment or so he pulled out his folded up schedule, handing it to his impatient best friend. "Here, look and see."  
The ghoul scanned both pages, almost too excited to speak. On her schedule read:

Period 1: Monster's Lit A.P.

Period 2: Clawculus A.P.

Period 3: Dead Languages

Lunch

Period 4: Biteology Lab

Period 5: Hist. of the Undead

Period 6: Physical Deaducation

While his schedule read:

Period 1: Dead Languages

Period 2: Clawculus A.P.

Period 3: Dead Languages

Lunch

Period 4: Biteology Lab

Period 5: Hist. of the Undead

Period 6: Fierce Fashion 101

The ghoul suddenly had a giddy outburst of laughter, feeling girly and bubbly. "I can't believe it, we have almost every class together, how clawesome is that?"  
The manster leaned over, viewed the two schedules. He nodded enthusiastically, showing that he agreed. He poked at his schedule, while looking at hers. "Oh look, we get to play with our food and then play with chemicals, how fun."  
The ghoul giggled. "Good point," she said, returning the paper to him. She watched as he neatly folded it, returning it to his back pocket. "Anyway, we better get to Dead Languages before we're late. Orientation already took put so much time and if we take up more time, we better have a more creative excuse."  
"Yeah, I heard that Mr. Rotter locks his doors after nine-thirty, so we better hurry." The manster agreed with a cool grin. He offered his arm, waiting for his best friend to take it.  
She did, looping her arm through his. They began to walk off down the lively hallways, chatting as they went. They noticed all kinds of new monster they'd never seen before. Excited, they laughed together, trying to guess where each monster had been from or what their Monster Origin had been. As they continued to walk and guess, they realized that they couldn't guess half of the monster's nationalities.

The ghoul yawned, stretching her mouth wide as she quickly covered it with her hand, using her good manners as her eyes squinted to a close. Her back stretched tall, her free arm high. Her best friend chuckled lightly across from her. "I know it's been a long day, but what's got you so tired?"  
"Physical Deaducation…so _not _my thing. And running laps? Don't even get me started." She answered, letting out another smaller yawn. "And do you even _see _my hair?"  
The Avatar monster paused before speaking, waiting for his tired part-Normie part-demon best friend to slip off the hood of her onyx cape. He leaned forward, taking a sip of his organic Yak milkshake with crimson Poison-berries and extra fluffy white Phantom-Foam. The moment she slid her hood off, he began to choke. He pounded a blue fist to his black tee shirt covered lanky small chest, hoping to stop his gagging. Finally, he could breathe. "Oh my Na'vi…what happened to your hair?"  
The ghoul tried to see the strand of her curly hair the curled near her eyes. She sighed in utter defeat, slipping the hood back on. Her face lit to a bright red. She didn't need to see it to believe it, her hair had been a monster of a mess.  
"You know how I don't do anything without my cape, right? Well…it's not like I was going to run without it…" she said, her dark purple eyes blinking away as she lifted her spoon, lightly poking at her light orange Jell Egg with orange slim.  
"That's so Tali, I _almost _can't even believe it." The Avatar monster said, laughing as if he'd been there. He could picture her, running in her cap. He pictured her, thinking that she must've looked like a complete fool.  
the ghoul ignored him. She stared at its orange outlined spots, in a daze. She continued to light poke at the egg, watching as it wiggled like Normie jello. She sighed, her stomach silently growling. Finally, she cautiously picked off the orange vines, connecting both her Jell Eggs. Once she was finished, she quickly tapped the spoon against the eggs, witness the explosion of the sunset orange goo as it poured out of the see-through orange eggs. The flood of orange goo dripped down to the extra salty deep sea kelp that had been covering the eggs. The ghoul watched silently as it flooded from the kelp and off the hourglass shaped bowl they'd been sitting in. She licked her lips, preparing to launch the spoon. She took the silver spoon, dipping it into the orange goo. She scrapped off chips of the Jell Eggs, let it fall into the scoop of goo. Once she put the spoon in her mouth, she shivered in satisfaction. "I'll _never _get tired of this cold yummy goo as long as I live."  
"Well, duh, it's, like, your favorite food, right?" the Avatar winked.  
"No, not really." The ghoul blinked. Hairy Spider Eyeball is my top fav."  
"Say what now?" The Avatar said, a confused look gracing his feminine face. "Hairy Spider Eyeball, what's that?"  
"Don't pretend not to know," the ghoul said, circling a spoon in his face. It dripped orange goo on the white table. "We have it during _every _holiday. It's sort of has double light purple eyelids with tiny hairs on them. There's sort of like a surprise inside, or whatever. Like, if you open the second eyeball, you get the best part – the yellow eyeball part with the dark green pupil. It also has, like, four spider legs, two on each side. It's totally delicious and you totally love it when my mom cooks it."  
"Oh, duh, never-mind." The Avatar said, letting his bright blue fist with darker blue strikes fall lightly to his head. "I totally know what you're talking about now."  
The ghoul scooped another piece of jiggly orange Jell Egg with sunset orange goo in her mouth. She chewed, a delighted smile on her face. "Though you'd remember around now!"  
Just before the Avatar manster could speak, a waitress dressed in all white with a red apron approached them, a silver tray in her pale white hand. On her face was a gloomy, somewhat uninterested grin. Her pale purple eyes had been narrowed and bored. "Here's your Troll-A-Cola, enjoy." She said, her voice dull. She sat the fizzing cola down, leaving from the scene as she tucked the tray under her arm.  
"Hey, doesn't she go to our school?" The Avatar asked, narrowing his eyes at the waitress, trying to remember.  
"Yeah, I think so." The ghoul answer, shoving more of her Jell Egg in her mouth. "I think I saw her at Freshmen Monster Orientation this morning."  
"Thought so," the Avatar said, leaning forward again to sip the Yak milk milkshakes through his pink and white striped straw. The taste of exotic Poison-berries enlightened his taste bugs. "I wonder if she's got a brother."  
"Why? You think he'd hit on a monster like you?" the ghoul asked, her voice teasing. Her eyes flickered mockingly.  
"Wouldn't he?" the manster Avatar said, batting his eyelashes flirtatiously as his eyes widen to highlight his bright neon yellow eyes. He made a cute pose, making cat paws and putting them up to his face. With confidence and a soft voice he said: "I'm as cute as a button. I don't see why he wouldn't."  
"Oh god," the ghoul rolled her dark purple eyes. "A little egotistical, aren't we? A little too confident, don't you think?"  
"Well, you either want me suicidal, or overly confident." The Avatar answered, once again sipping his milkshake. The ghoul looked away awkwardly, recalling memories from last year when they were eighth graders. Her shoulders slumped as she remembered how her best friend tried committing suicide, she remember how he had been being teased and bullied because he had been gay. She bit her lip, looking up at him with concerned eyes.  
"Well…I'd rather have you overly-confident. So…promise me that stuff like last year won't happen again, 'kay?" she said, worried.  
The Avatar blinked up to her, clueless as if he had no idea what she'd been talking about. He took his lips from the pink and white straw. "Yeah, I promise. So no worries this year, got it?"  
"Got it." the ghoul said with a pleased nod and a wide caring smile.

_*{Quick Notice!}  
Alright, so, I have made this new story and all, and I've found _the perfect _model for my Avatar male OC. So: hopefully if you guys don't mind doing a little bit of site-searching, I would like you to go here- _

_http: /wp-co ntent/uploads/20 10/02/avatar-photoshop-make-up-james-cam eron-flickr-avatiz er-michael-jackson .j pg_

_All you have to do is erase the blanks! _

_But if you don't see the link!~  
Please visit my DeviantArt channel to see the model, my name is: _

_Oniriri-chan _

_So yeah, this is The End of my intro! Please look out for the very first chapter, so excited! LOL~ _


	2. Chapter 1

*{Chapter 1}

The ghoul giggled softly, cuddling and rocking her most precious of pets, her mutated moth larva, Silkie. It wiggles joyfully in her arms, giving her a happy smile that revealed peddle sized white teeth and a pink-grey tongue. She gently pet its somewhat yellow head, cooing over it.  
"Who's a scary-berry cutie-pie?" she asked, her voice perky. "Who's a scary-berry cutie-pie? You are, yes you are. That's right!"  
"Who's a tickle monster?" Beast Boy, her father, said, sneaking up behind her. "Who's a tickle monster? I am, yes I am."  
"Oh no you're not," she said, dodging him with fast reflexes. "Not today anyway, you'll wrinkle my cape."  
"You're such a meanie." Her father said from her onyx colored bed, a deep frown on his face as he pouted. "What kind of daughter doesn't let her own father tickle her? Big meanie…"  
"Sorry, dad, but I've got a date later." She answered, lifting the moth larva in the air. She wiggled it around for a moment and then pressed the giggling larva baby to her chest. It wiggled about, happy.  
"A date?" her father stood instantly. "With who? What's his name? Do I know him? What does it take to knock him off the face of this earth?"  
"Oh, daddy," she whined, passing him and going over to flop down on her bed. She did just that, still holding Silkie. "It's with Jarr'ah, just like it always is."  
"Hmmm," Beast Boy thought for a moment, turning into a monkey. He sat in midair on one leg, putting his ankle to his knee as he folded his arm and put the other hand to his chin, making a thinking pose. His face grew playfully serious as he pretended to think. "And I have nothing to suspect, right? There's nothing going on between you two, correct?"  
"Of course not, daddy." The ghoul sang, lifting Silkie in the air once more. She lowered it, placed a kiss to its forehead. It smiled brightly, still giggling. "There _can't _be anything going on between us. Jarr'ah likes other mansters, if you haven't noticed."  
"Don't go getting all smart with me, young lady." Beast Boy said, now jumping and transforming into a sloth in midair. He landed next to his daughter, slowly turning onto his side. He put a hand to his head, causing his elbow to make a crease in the black purple-blue bed. His other hand went to his hip. "I totally knew that, I was just checking!"  
"Whatever," the ghoul sang again, sighing loudly as she lowered Silkie to her again. She sat the moth larva to her stomach, began to pet it. "It's not like I would have a chance with him anyway…"  
"What do you mean?" Beast Boy asked, turning into a green puppy now, with darker green spots. He cuddled up to his daughter, preparing to listen to her rant as he got comfortable.  
She put Silkie down next to her side, transforming herself. She turned into a white-grey dove bird, flew over to her window seat. She sat, sighing once more. She picked up one of her new textbooks, skimmed through it. "Don't worry, dad. It's nothing…really."  
"You sure, kitten? I'm happy to help if you need it." the green puppy said, now turning into a bat as it flew over to the window seat. Beast Boy transformed back into his original form, gave his daughter a kind, caring smile. The ghoul lifted her dark purple eyes to her father, glimpsing at the frown lines on his face. He's aged. He was now old with dull green hair that had a coat of grey over it. His eyes had now become tired and weary, and they had bags under them. You wouldn't be able to see due to his thick square glasses, but if you looked close enough…Not to mention he had frown lines on his forehead. She now saw that her father had aged somewhat in the years, but still he was quite handsome, and still as ever, green. She returned his kind and caring smile with a gentle grin.  
"Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks anyway, daddy." She said softly, quietly as she lowered her eyes back to her textbook.  
"Alright," Beast Boy sighs, giving up. He knew enough from experience with his wife Raven when to leave a half-demon woman alone. "Well, is there anything that you'd like for dinner?"  
"I'm not really that hungry, and I doubt I'll get hungry later. I guess…I'll just eat Rox." The ghoul shrugs, unsure.  
"You mean that one cereal Raven buys you and it's made with rocks from planet Mars?" Beast Boy asks, confused. All he ever ate, even until this day, was tofu and nothing more.  
"Yep," the ghoul tried to grin coolly. "They are sugar coded in pixie dust and melting sugar crystals. They taste really yummy with two percent goat milk, but then again…organic Yak milk works too."  
"Such a silly girl," Beast Boy shakes his head disappointedly, dropping a hand to his daughter's head. He pets her smooth, long wild untamable curly dark purple hair, scratching through it. "And to think I raised you on tofu. I knew I should've let Raven watch you for a second, my precious scary-berry sweet-pie."  
"Yeah, well, I'm _glad _mom _did _watch me." The ghoul says, shaking his hand off her head. "What kind of monster only lives on tofu? Gro-oss."  
"You'll understand when you're older, kiddo. Now don't come back too late, got it? Raven will have a fit if I allow you to stay out too late." Beast Boy stands, turning into a kangaroo.  
The ghoul giggles, watching as he hops off. "Got it, daddy." She calls.  
A gentle smile finds her soft face. Although she looked more like her mother with her identical dark purple eyes and hair with her grey-white skin, she was happy to look somewhat like her father. She had his pointy elf ears that had been all too big and his odd sharp bottom teeth fangs, but she wouldn't trade her feature for anything in the world. She was happy, proud to be like her father in any way, just as she was with her mother.

"Black cape attire, _again_?" Jarr'ah the Avatar greeted, a cool grin on his blue with dark blue tiger striped face.  
"Yeah, and?" Moratalia said, giving him a look. What had been wrong with her _onyx _cloak? She liked it, and that's all that was important.  
"Fine, I'll back off." Jarr'ah shrugged his black leathery jacket shoulders.  
Moratalia looked him up and down, a dark purple eyebrow lifted. "Ummm, don't you think you may be a little overdressed?"  
The Avatar looked down at his black leather coat with the white v-neck shirt and faded jeans. He glanced back up to his best friend. "You think so? I thought I looked purrfect."  
The ghoul shook her head, as her father had done earlier. She took a seat on the creamy light brown bubbly L-shaped benched. "Well, hun, put it like this: this is the Black Lagoon Café, _not _some cheesy Normies movie where the guys dance around with tall troll-looking hair and sing."  
"Whatever." The manster's bright yellow eyes rolled. He then flicked his eyes to the side, lifting his black eyebrows. "Anyway, cute monster past the bamboo plant, six forty-two o'clock."  
Moratalia looked over to where he had been hinting at, leaned back in her seat to eye the manster curiously. He had, just as Jarr'ah said cute with blue skin and a black tattoo that marked along his face, shaped around his right eyes. His hair had been made of blazing red, orange, and yellow flames and his eyes like a sunrise. Lying on his neck is a pair of black and orange headphones. As for his chose of clothing, he'd been dressed in a red leather jacket with gold stitching, and under that jacket had been a one-side-white and one-side-black shirt. His pants had been black and purple pinstripe with a flame pattern and around his waist was a yellow belt. His shoes were black and yellow high-top sneakers.  
Moratalia leaned forward, her eyes widen excitedly. "Oh my darkness, you're so right! He's a total cutie!"  
"I know right?" Jarr'ah said, leaning in too. "But do you think he likes guys? You know…the way _I _like guys?"  
"Does it matter?" Moratalia rolled her eyes. "Just GO!"  
"Okay, fine!" Jarr'ah said, biting his lip in excitement. He lifted from his seat, biting his lip even harder. He gave one last look of hope to his best friend. She encouraged him with a bright smile. He gave an official nod before beginning to walk around the bamboo plant. When he was finally around it, around the very plant that separated him and the cute flaming head blue skinned boy, he froze nervously.  
Holt Hyde gave the shy lanky manster a cool, friendly smile.  
"Hey there." he said, lifting his finger to Jarr'ah, making a hand-gun.  
The now shy Avatar manster nodded his head, his heart pounding nervously and his knee feeling somewhat knobby. He swallowed the lump in his throat, taking a seat across from Holt before he gave himself time to hesitate. He blinked his eyes up to Holt for a moment and blinked them back down, smiling timidly. "Um…h-hi. I'm…um, sorry to bother you, but do you…maybe go to Monster High?"  
Holt stared confusedly at the bashful manster before his with the feminine also blue face that had been biting his lip. His face was somewhat red. "Yeah, I do," he finally answered, his smile confident. "I'm a sophomore there, a known DJ too."  
"You are?" the Avatar manster leaned forward, interested and curious in Holt. His knee buckled together in nervousness as bats invaded his stomach. Again, he swallowed the lump in his throat, lowering his eyes as he gave a nod, leaning away as he smiled shyly. "That's so cool."  
"Isn't it?" Holt said, gulping down his Bed bug latte, with extra creamy, fluffy white Phantom Foam.  
Jarr'ah put the knuckles of his fist to his lower neck, near his collarbone. He hoped that his voice didn't sound as squeamish and bashful as he felt. "Do you DJ at a lot of parties?"  
"Yep, almost all the time, the fans can't get enough of me and I always love playin' a good tune." Holt answers, flicking one of the cherry bombs into his mouth. Jarr'ah watches, lifting his eyes again. His lips part.  
"Aren't those, like, suppose to be super hot…or something?" he asks.  
"Yep, but only the hottest of monsters can eat them." Holt winked.  
Jarr'ah tried hard to suppress his giggle, instead he bit his lip. "Oh…I didn't know."  
"Well now you do, but you know something? I'm in the mood for something sweet." Holt said, standing. He removed himself from the two seat-er booth. "Be back in a sec." he promised.  
Jarr'ah nodded, watching as he walked off. Quickly he lifted from his seat, slid from the two seat-er booth, and pranced to the other side of the bamboo plant. His face turned red as he slid back to his seat across from Moratalia. "Oh my Na'vi, did you _see _that? He _winked_! Oh my Na'vi, please tell me that you saw that."  
"Yeah, yeah, I saw, I saw." Moratalia said, waving his excitement away.  
Jarr'ah tried not to bounce in his seat. "Do you think it means something? Oh, never-mind, I'd rather not have you ruin this for me! Oh, here he comes, wait a sec, 'kay?"  
"Sure." Moratalia said, sighing as she watched her best friend run around the bamboo plant again. She resumed what she had been doing, watching the scene from the corner of her eye.  
"Sorry," Holt said, taking a seat again. He sat a bowl of white fluffiness on the table. In the bowl had been two spoons. "I didn't have enough for two. Hope you don't mind."  
"Um…o-of course not! Thanks, you didn't have to…really." Jarr'ah said, thanking Holt with a soft smile. He accept Holt's gift of creamy delight, picking up his silver spoon.  
"You know," Holt said, stopping Jarr'ah just before he could dig in. Holt picked up his spoon too. "This is Cloud Covers ice cream. Do you know why it's called that?"  
"Nope, not really." Jarr'ah smiled, engaged in the conversation. He'd never really thought about why things were named whatever name they were given. He just never gave it much thought before.  
"Well they say that it's called "Cloud Covers" because the sweet sugar vanilla ice cream melts over your tongue. They say it's made from goat milk so its suppose to be soft with Yak milk. Or, you know, something like that." Holt said with a charming smile.  
"I take it you really like ice cream?" Jarr'ah asked before scooping up some of the ice cream. He sat the spoonful in his mouth, enjoyed its, just as rumored, overall freezing cold creamy sugar taste as it melted in his mouth. He smiled with utter complete satisfaction.  
"I guess you could say that." Holt shrugged, taking in a spoonful for himself. He took on the bone-chilling freeze of it, taking another scoop.  
Jarr'ah giggled softly. "You're gonna get a brain freeze, hun."  
"Hun?" Holt questioned. He swallowed the ice cream, decided not to think much about his name nickname. "Well, whatever, that's alright, pet. I _never _get brain freezes. If you haven't noticed, heats my thing."  
"Well…yeah. You're sort of…hot." Jarr'ah said, looking away as his face brightened to a intense red. Another giggle escaped him.  
"You got that right." Holt agreed, eating more of the ice cream.  
"Hey," Jarr'ah said, suddenly now looking up and lifting his head to finally meet the flame headed Holt's eyes. "Mind if a friend joins us?"  
Holt shrugged. "Why not?"  
"Oh, purrfect! Hey, Moratalia, get over here!" Jarr'ah called. Moratalia stood, her shoulders slumping somewhat sadly as she walked over to the other side of the bamboo plant. She greeted Holt with a casual "whatever, I'm not too interested in you that much" wave and took her place next to her best friend. She felt awkward. "Okay, so this is my friend, Moratalia, but feel free to call her something like Tali, or whatever. That's what I usually call her. You won't mind, right, bestie?"  
"Whatever." The ghoul shrugged, sinking a bit in her seat.  
"I'm Holt, it's nice to meet ya, friend of a friend." Holt said, lifting out his hand. Moratalia looked at it for a moment before she finally shook it.  
"_Tali_, or so I was introduced." She said.  
"Coolio, Tali table-turner. Tell me, do you've got a fire hot temper?" Holt said teasingly, still eating the ice cream. Jarr'ah chuckled lightly, eating the ice cream as well. Moratalia glanced at him, knowing to keep her cool for him. After all, he'd made it as far as eating ice cream with the guy. Maybe he'd even be lucky enough to get his phone number.  
"No," she answered, still hidden well by her hood. "I don't have a 'fire hot temper', or whatever."  
"Al…right then." Holt blinked, wondering if he'd lost his "mojo".  
"So Holt," Jarr'ah said, perking up his mood with a lively smile. "What do you're classes look like?"  
"Well, I've got Dead Languages, music, and Physical Deaducation, but those are my favorites. The rest…well…you know." Holt answered, shrugging casually.  
"Cool," Jarr'ah's smile was bright, yet timid. "Maybe…you could possibly….sometimes help me with my homework. I, um…sort of take that class too, so, you know."  
"Sure, why not." Holt leaned back in his seat, full from ice cream. He left the rest for Jarr'ah to eat on his own. "I can't say that I'll be much help, but then again two brains are better than one, right?"  
"Right." Jarr'ah replied, his blue face blushing to a bright red. His heart fluttered about in his chest as he took out his iCoffin from his leather jacket pocket. "Let's exchange cell numbers, you know, for later."  
Holt blinked, giving a nod. He took out his iCoffin. "Sure, hand over your iCoffin. I'll put my cell number in, and you do the same."  
"O-Okay." Jarr'ah said, exchange iCoffins. He pressed the buttons lightly, entering his phone number. With a burst of joy, he pressed save, looking up to Holt. "Um, well, I'm done."  
"Nice." Holt said, giving the iCoffin back as he took his own.  
Jarr'ah stared excitedly at the screen of his iCoffin for a moment, a bit nervous. He paused, sending a secret text under the table. He pressed the "Send a Scream" button, waiting. Holt's phone vibrated in his pant's front pocket. He took it out, checked the scream. He read it aloud.  
"'Hey there, guess who?' – cute, really. You even put a smiley face." Holt said, chuckling.  
"Just making sure it wasn't a fake cell number." Jarr'ah said, biting his lip.  
Holt nodded understandably. "Yeah, I got it. So hey, I need to go and set up for this gig I'm doing over at Club Jinx. If you two are up for some partying, feel free to come."  
"Is…that sort of, like, an invite?" Jarr'ah said, blushing.  
Holt shrugged, ever so casually. "Sure."  
"Cool, we'll be there, promise!" Jarr'ah said excitedly, his smile beaming.  
Holt put up a thumbs-up. "Nice. See you two there, I'll pay for the tab."  
"Thanks, Holt!" Jarr'ah called as he walked off. "I owe you one!"  
"_Thanks Holt!" _Moratalia teased, mimicking Jarr'ah's silly wave that Holt didn't even see. _"I owe you one!"  
_"Shut up," Jarr'ah said, pushing Moratalia's arm with his own. "I so _don't _sound like that."  
"It was close enough," Moratalia said, rolling her eyes. "And _ew_, please, make it _even more obvious _that you're crushing."  
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Jarr'ah said, shoving a spoonful of Cloud Covers ice cream into Moratalia's mouth. She shivered, not being fond of the ice cream as Holt and Jarr'ah had.  
Well, the ghoul was never one for cold things…


	3. Chapter 2

*{Chapter 2}

"Welcome to the club of Jinx." The bouncer said, in his wardrobe painted all black and dark blue wings sitting lightly against shoulders. With his face covered by dark shades, he reached over and opened the tall black door. Although the door had been tall, Jarr'ah had been taller.  
At ten foot two, he had to bend down, protecting his head. He walked into Club Jinx, his smooth, striped cyan-colored skin covered by clingy milk white pants, a bright red button-up shirts, and leather black shoes. Behind him, his lengthy cyan-colored tail swept against the light up neon colored floors, swinging freely. With his slender frame and thin build, he had been painfully thin and quite lanky, but still somehow he looked quite handsome. He had to wonder to himself, had it been his sleek, oily, yet fresh glowing with too much jell curls, or maybe his liquid gold eyes that seemed to glow under the florescent multiple color changing lights?  
Or possible, had it been his slightly dark cyan colored markings that stained his cyan skin like creative tattoos or a unique birthmark?  
He couldn't help but question what made him feel so very confident.  
He looked around for a moment, pausing near the neon lime green glow up bar, slowly searching the room with squinted eyes. Finally, he spotted his best friend, Mortalia, dressed down in her black and white striped dress that ended at her knobby knee and flattered her oh so long lengthy model monster grey-white legs. Around her had been her onyx cape and as always the hood covered her head. Her shoes had been red pumps, courtesy of her father, BB as referred to by his oldest of friends and Jarr'ah, and sparkling against the paleness of her delicate lengthy fingers had been a silver ring, plain and there just for show. Her curly dark purple hair tangled under her hood, as anyone could tell by the intertwined curls sticking out from under her hood.  
He waved, catching her attention. "I'm over here, Tali- sweetie! By the bar, look over here, pet!"  
The shy ghoul found him, spotting his blue hand in the masses of people. She quickly made her way to him, pushing past monsters dancing on the light up multiple colored dance floor. Once she made it to him, she fell into his arm, thankful to have found him. The club scene was so _not _her scene. "I can't believe I agreed to come here with you. What was I even thinking?"  
"You were thinking of being a clawesome friend to your BMFF." Jarr'ah said with a playfully grin.  
"BMFF?" Mortalia questioned. "Am I suppose to know what that means?"  
Jarr'ah's liquid golden eyes rolled. "Oh my Na'vi, BMFF: Best Monster Friend Furever – duh."  
"Um, yeah, right…sure." She blinked, looking around.  
"Oh, good idea," Jarr'ah smiled widely. "Better get looking for my burning baby before he begins his big act."  
"Burning baby?" Mortalia questioned once again. "Does he know you call him that? Or did you not tell him yet?"  
"He'll know at some point, now come one." Jarr'ah said, taking his best ghoul's wrist. He led her back through the crowd of dancing monsters, making their way to the middle of the dance floor. Sure enough, there he was: dancing coolly as if he had unlimited energy to spare.  
Jarr'ah made a small wave, gave a bright smile.  
"Hey there, you. Having fun?" he tried to call over the music.  
Holt smiled wide, nodding as he danced. "Having the time of my life, that's for sure. I'm glad you two could make it!"  
"Yeah, uh, thanks!" Jarr'ah blushed a bit, beginning to dance too. The current DJ was playing one of Selena Ghoulmez's song, "Love You like a Love Song", one of Jarr'ah's favorites. Mortalia attempted to dance too, trying her best with two left feet. Holt danced around Jarr'ah, making his way to the middle of their group. He danced between, with them at the same time. Mortalia blushed, her face brightening to an intense red.  
This had been the very first time that she ever danced with a boy that had not been her best friend. Somewhat, she felt her feet tangle.  
Jarr'ah took both their wrists, dancing backwards as he made his way to the glowing lime green bar. Once they got there, he released them, let them free. He took a seat on one of silver stool, encouraged they do the same with a friendly nod. "What should we get?"  
Holt took the silver stool on Jarr'ah's left, spreading his legs as he sat comfortably. He put his blue cheek to the knuckles of his blue hand, thinking as he considered the drinks the bar had. He examined the drinks on display behind the purple colored bartender, who had a total of four arms. He cleaned glasses with two hands, and used the others to grab glasses off his display stand of fancy shaped glasses.  
"Well, I don't go to club, so…I wouldn't really know. You guys pick." Mortalia said, shy and timidly.  
"Alright." Jarr'ah gave her a smile and turned to Holt. He leaned towards him, putting his arm to his. He mimicked Holt's pose and facial expression.  
"So, what'cha think there? Got any idea what we should get?"  
Holt glanced over to Jarr'ah, gave him a wide grin. "How about we get three Troll-A-Cola _and _a side of cherry bombs? I dare you to eat one."  
"Are you kidding?" Jarr'ah said, leaning away in shock as his black eyebrows lifted. "Those are _fire _hot."  
"Yeah," Holt said confidently with a self-satisfied smirk, as if he ate them on a daily basis regularly. "I know."  
"Well…I don't know." Jarr'ah said teasingly, biting his lip as his face turned a slight warm pink. He turned back to his bestie, offering her a 'should we give this a try?' sort of grin. "What do you think?"  
She shrugged carelessly. "I'm not gonna eat em even if you _do _get them. Your go, I'm not playing your game."  
"Meanie," Jarr'ah stuck out his tongue at her, turning back to Holt. "Well, fine. I guess I can try _one_."  
"Good." Holt said, repeating their order to the four armed purple bartender. The bartender gave a nod. He sat cups before them, quickly dug under his glowing neon lime green bar into the mini fridge that had been hidden. He pulled out a large bottle of Troll-A-Cola, poured each of them a glass full. It bubbled, promising a refreshing taste.  
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Jarr'ah said, watching as the bartender returned the soda to the fridge and pulled out a wide bowl of pyramid outlined cherry bombs.  
"Don't worry, their good – I promise. Just trust me." Holt said with a smooth grin that no doubt made Jarr'ah blush. "Here, try one."  
Jarr'ah stared at the cherry Holt offered in his hand. He waited, hesitating a moment. When he gold liquid eyes blinked back up to Holt's own sunset colored eyes, he gave a tempting smile, taking the cherry from his hand, pulling it by its green stem, as if accepting Holt's challenge. "And you swear they're good, right?"  
"You can poke my eye out if they're not." Holt promised with a official nod. He picked up one of the cherries, offered to do the same as Jarr'ah would at the same time.  
"Alright then, don't go back on your promise," Jarr'ah said, lifting the cherry. Holt did the same, now mimicking _his _moves. Jarr'ah put the cherry in his mouth, pulled off the stem, he watched as Holt did the same. After two second once the smooth texture of the cherry came into contact with the soft texture of his tongue, he begin to bounce slightly in his seat. Tears gathered and surfaced at the rim of his eyes, his tongue felt as if it had been on fire. The tears fell, causing Holt to chuckle and turn away. Jarr'ah, still unable to swallow the cherry as Holt did, reached over to give Holt's arm a good slap before quickly wiping his eyes. Without hesitating, he was quick to swallow the cherry. It tickled down his throat, burning. "You told me that it wasn't hot, liar!"  
"It's not," Holt said in protest, lifting up his hands in defense. "It just stings a little, but it's not all that hot."  
"Are you kidding me?" Jarr'ah said, sniffing as he reached for another cherry. "I think I'm going to need to ice my tongue for the next week!"  
Holt gave him a smile that appreciated his bravery. "Ready to try again?"  
"Yeah, bring it." Jarr'ah said, ready to go another round. He looped his arm around Holt's, creating what looked somewhat like a pretzel.  
Holt gave a confident half-grin. "You sure you want to do this?"  
"Well, I'm not going to back down." Jarr'ah said, his tone confident as well.  
"Alright, you feed me yours and I'll feed you mine on three, 'kay?" Holt nodded. "1…2…3!"  
Jarr'ah dropped the cherry, watching as it fell in Holt's mouth. Holt plucked the cherry, waiting for Jarr'ah's reaction. Both their ears started to steam. Jarr'ah unhooked, looping it out of formation. He swallowed the cherry, fanned his now red tongue. "Remind me to never do this again, _ever_. And if I do, please just remind me of this time."  
"Can't handle the fire? Get out of the kitchen." Holt said, dropping another cherry into his mouth, along with its stem. After a moment he pulled the stem out of his mouth. It had been shaped oddly enough like a heart.  
Jarr'ah tucked strands of curly black hair behind his ear as Holt sat the heart shaped stem on one of the napkins.  
"That's pretty impressive…show off." Jarr'ah teased, smiling widely and somewhat flirtatiously. Holt chuckled lightly, lifting from his seat. He took Jarr'ah's wrist, and then Mortalia's.  
"Yeah, well, I'm a pretty impressive guy." He said as he dragged them to the front of the light up changing colors dance floor. He dragged them to the very front, right into of the stage of which his DJ booth had been waiting for him. "Now stay put where I can see you, I want you both to see jamming to my clawesome tunes."  
Jarr'ah nodded, watching Holt as he disappeared in the crowd. He then turned to Mortalia. "Isn't this great? Aren't you glad that you came?"  
"No, not really." Mortalia admitted with a sour frown as she looked away, somewhat loneness drifting in her dark purple eyes. "I sort of feel like a third wheel. So…maybe I should go."  
Jarr'ah grabbed her wrist just before she could escape. He gave a wide loving smile, pulling her toward him. He took both her hands, beginning to dance as Holt started to play the music and mix the tunes. Jarr'ah leaned forward, making sure she could hear. He put his blue forehead to her own pale grey forehead. "Or maybe you should stay!"


	4. Chapter 3

*{Chapter 3}

_Ding-dong, ding-dong _the doorbell sounded, signaling that there was someone at the door. Mortalia got up from her seat on the lumpy living room couch, answering the call. She took a look through the peek-hole, lifting on her black tall socks covered feet. She stained her neck, lifted her dark purple eyes to see through the small hole. Just then, her heart begun to beat rapidly in her chest, fluttering about noisy and speedily.  
"U-Um…h-hey Holt…" she asked timidly, her face reddening as she stood in the now open doorway that seemed to expose her to the windy, alive darkness that was the night. In her onyx cloaked robe she seemed to sink into herself. What possible reason did Holt Hyde have to visit her home so late at night?  
"About that," Holt leaned his head over, moving it out of the way. Hidden behind him, wearing a look of excitement was Jarr'ah, his blue face bright red and a wide smile brightening his innocent face. "He needed a ride."  
"Oh." Mortalia scratched the back of her head, embarrassed. Under her black-purple cloak her chalk skin blushed a brighter shade of red. "Well…p-please, come in."  
Holt smiled coolly, walking inside. Jarr'ah followed behind, bouncing somewhat as he walked, a spring his already perky step. Once they were inside, Mortalia was quick to close and lock the door, hoping that no one [the neighbors] saw them coming in. They'd all probably tell Raven and Beast Boy that she had guests over while they were out on their marriage anniversary date. Mortalia bit her lip, running over to her sofa chair. She sat, hopping into her seat and crossing her legs snuggly, intertwining one in one another - crisscross applesauce style. She nodded her chin, encouraging that the mansters take a seat on the lumpy couch. They did, not complain about their seating. Somehow, they positioned themselves, finding a way to sit comfortably.  
"Nice place you've got here, Tallie." Holt said, admiring the home's décor; which thanks to Raven was sophisticated Victorian chic with a taste of modern Gothic flair.  
"U-Um…T-Tallie?" Mortalia questioned quietly. She realized that Holt hadn't heard her, thankfully. With a bashful tone that was both shy and timid she replied, "Well, thanks."  
"No problem. Mind if I use your bathroom?" Holt stood, glancing over to Jarr'ah, hinting. Mortalia nodded, pointed a shaking finger to the direction of the bathroom. Holt gave her an enthusiastic smile. "Thanks."  
Once Holt was gone from the room, Mortalia took his seat next to Jarr'ah. She bit her lip nervous, bats fluttering about in her stomach.  
Although she didn't want to admit it, having Holt in her house was making her more nervous than anything. What if he by chance discovered her dark purple dress towel _thing_?  
"So, um, what's up?" she finally asked, mumbling. She mentally shook herself, returning herself to the scene.  
"Well, I've got this _monster _of an idea." Jarr'ah with a confident cool smile and eyes that dances, glancing to his bestie elatedly. "You see, I was hanging out with Holt earlier during one of his shows at some cool jazzy r&b type of club and then we sort of held hands and walked to the park and…okay, well, whatever, moving on: when we were lying down on this grass hill we had this _clawesome _idea for a new club at Monster High."  
"Oh…kay?" Mortalia blinked, puzzled as she curled her legs up and pressed her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her bony knee comfortably, careful that they didn't appear from under her dark cloak. "And what is this _clawesome new club _you two came up with?"  
"It's called GSA – Gay Straight Alliance. What do you think, cute, right?" Jarr'ah said with a bubbly giggle, putting his fist to his mouth. On his wrist was a braided string bracelet, the colored of white.  
Mortalia's head fell to the side. She could've sworn she'd seen that same exact bracelet on Holt, but his was the color black.  
Had it been a hand-knitted couple's bracelet, maybe?

_*I'm a total lazy-pants, sue me.  
Again, as I said for Mia's story, too lazy to type more.  
More chapters to come, I promise. Hope you liked this mini chapter!-3_


	5. Chapter 4

*{Chapter 4}

"Oh come on, Ms. Webber! Be the advisor of our club, pretty please." Jarr'ah begged, his hands folded into a crown and pressed to his small chest. He swayed from side to side, giving Aquaria the most innocent of pleading looks. He bit his bottom lip, begging.  
"Gay straight alliance, GSA, huh? Well, I dunno, kiddo. First, before you find an advisor, you'd need to find five members. They need to be responsible too. Then, and only then could I be your advisor. And then you'd need to spread the word with advertising, assign jobs, plan out how the club will run, and et cetera, et cetera. It'd be _lots _of work." Aquaria said, pressing her wooden clipboard closer to her chest.  
"Well _duh_," Jarr'ah rolled his eyes. "I never expected it to be easy. I can find club members _easy_. I've already got one."  
"You do?" Aquaria questioned, raising a blue eyebrow. Bubbles surrounded her and dissolved in her water tank. "Who?"  
"This fierce ghoul standing right here, also known as my best ghoul friend, Tallie." Jarr'ah grinned brightly, grabbing Mortalia's arm. He glued himself to her, his eyes proud.  
"Well…I don't know, sweetie. I don't think she looks so…what's the word…enthusiastic to join your club." Aquaria said, observing Mortalia's awkward stance and shy demeanor.  
Jarr'ah sighed loudly, rolling his pale yellow eyes once more. He put a hand to his hip. "Well that's because you can't see her face, duh."  
"Right." Aquaria blinked her eyes away, her lips rolling inward awkwardly. "Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind being your club advisor, so no need to worry about that, just find club members. Got it?"  
"Got it," Jarr'ah eyes danced with excitement as he shook Mortalia's arm, his wide smile joyful. "No need to worry about a thing, I'll have members before the week is over!"  
"Good luck, hunny." Aquaria gave a half-grin, offering a small understandable nod before turning and strutting off down the hall full of chatting monsters. Jarr'ah waited for a moment, jealous of her long legs and curved hips. Even if she didn't have the walk of a goddess, she surely had model-worth legs.  
He finally turned back to Mortalia once she disappeared into her classroom. "So anyway, I've got a great plan! Great idea about getting members: advertising! I vote we start right away since, you know, we have to get a total of five members fast and all. What do you say?"  
"Um…yeah, sure." Mortalia mumbled behind her cloak of onyx. "What should we do? For advertising, I mean…"  
The avatar manster shrugged. "Dunno – we could try posters like the Fearleading team, but it's not a grantee that monsters will ever think twice after they look at them, and besides, I want to do something big."  
"Something big like what?" Mortalia questioned, a frown settling on her forehead. What was Jarr'ah thinking?  
"Hmmm, not really sure yet, but definitely _something_." Jarr'ah answered, beginning to walk down the long hallway. Mortalia followed, hurrying beside him as she watched him think. "Maybee…maybeee…how about we just, I don't know, do something random."  
"Something random?" Mortalia asked, entering the creepateria.  
Jarr'ah stopped in the doorway for a moment, thinking. Then with a smile lit with excitement, "I've got it!"  
"Got what?" Mortalia blinked, watching him as he stomped forward happily before her.  
"Got _this_," Jarr'ah said, mentioning for her to follow. She did, jogging toward him. Once they were near one of the empty tables, they stopped. "Watch this, okay hun?"  
"Hm, what are you about to do?" Mortalia asked, her eyes widening slightly as she watched Jarr'ah climb onto the table. He made his way on top of it, stood. For a moment he examined the creepateria, meeting every pair of eyes that watched him. A big grin stretched across his face.  
"Alright!" Jarr'ah called, flashing a grin of satisfaction after he realized that he made every monster in the room attention. "Hi everyone! My name is Jarr'ah Sully and I'm a freshman this year, and I just want you guys to know that soon hopefully I will be starting a new club called GSA – Gay Straight Alliance. It's for the monsters, by the monsters and I for one think it'll be all kinds of fun. However, before we can actually get this thing going, we need five loyal members. Anyone want to join? I've already got a member!"  
Mortalia let out a questionable "Huh?" as Jarr'ah pulled her up onto the table. She looked at him, her hood now having fell off and her dark purple eyes exposed for all to see. The room full of monsters surrounding them gasped in wonderment, gazing upon her dark purple bouncing mess of curls. Her face instantly lit red. "What do you think you're doing?"  
"Show you off, duh." Jarr'ah giggled. "Anyway: so everyone – this pretty pepper here is named Mortalia Roth-Logan, she's also a freshman this year, but that's not really important. What's important is that she's my first member – and straight, for any monster who's wondering. She's sort of my right-hand-man, my partner in crime, my-"  
"Can I get down now?" Mortalia asked, her voice timid and a bit shaky.  
"No," Jarr'ah blinked. "Back to what I was saying: my sort of kind of not really sidekick; you can pretty much think of her as Co-boss, or club owner number two. Thanks to her, we now need only three only members – so, feel free to join! If you even think you want to join my club, please report to Ms. Webber's classroom afterschool – that's all, folks!"  
Mortalia took a deep breath, stumbling as Jarr'ah helped her off the table. "Seriously…what are you thinking making a random announcement like that? Really…so embarrassing…"

"Did you really expect anyone to come?" Aquaria asked, sighing as she hoisted herself onto the top of her desk, careful not reveal what hide behind her peach colored silk skirt. She crossed her legs at the knee, giving off the grace of a true lady.  
"Of course I did!" Jarr'ah said, rocking in his assigned seat. He pouted his bottom lip, his eyes wide and intense. "I _know _someone will come, they have to! They will…right?"  
"Of course, Jarr'ah." Mortalia said dropping her arms around him. She put her chin to the curly black that was his messy head of curls. Her smile was calming. "This means so something to you, so they have to."  
"Oh, Tallie." Jarr'ah said, attempting to look up at her. He smiled. "Thanks for all of the support, bestie."  
"Well, I'm not Co-boss for nothing, right?" she giggled, her face turning a slight pink from his joyful smile.  
"You two," Aquaria grinned, folding her white button-down silk shirt covered arms. "Really, I wish I had been so cute with my boyfriend the way you two are."  
"Well, we've known each other for a long time, so….yeah." Mortalia blushed red, standing straight and turning her head away. Her smile turned warm. She tried to hide her face.  
"Um, hello?" a voice entered the room. The three glanced at the door, gazing upon a ghoul with grey skin, eyes full of only black, and a lengthy ponytail that suggested a double standard of both colors grey and brown. Along with her was the ghost ghoul of all the rumors, a ghoul with a rebel aura and pale oily green eyes. Her hair was of white with pale purple strands that lingered about and fused with the heavenly white.  
"Hey there," Jarr'ah said, jumping up from his seat. He jogged over to the tall door, pulled the two ghouls inside. The door shut behind them, he offered a welcoming smile. "Come to join my club, maybe?"  
The alien ghoul nodded with a perky smile. "Totally!"  
"But," the ghost ghoul of all rumors interrupted, jumping into the conversation. "There's a problem."  
"Problem? What problem?" Jarr'ah questioned, his eyes wide with plead as if begging.  
"Well, you see," the alien ghoul said with an apologetic grin, rubbing the back of her head. "We sort of have this job to do, it's kind of a daily basis thing. We really want to join, but, you know…"  
"Yeah, I get it." Jarr'ah sighed loudly.  
"You ghouls are just too much." Aquaria said with a loud yawn. "Why not just do both? I did once. Of course I had to work overtime and such, but it was worth joining a club."  
"Didn't I tell you that this was pointless? Globs, let's just get out of here already." The ghost ghoul said impatiently, grabbing the alien ghoul's arm with a tight grip. She dragged her away, out of the room completely.  
"Jeepers, why'd they even come then?" Jarr'ah said with a pout, taking a seat on top one of the desks.  
"Good point." Mortalia said, blinking in confusion.  
"It's as if they're actors performing a scene, don't you think?" Aquaria asked, chuckling lightly with enjoyment.  
"Yeah, how delightful." Jarr'ah answered grimly.  
Mortalia made her way over to him, stood directly across from him. She poked his nose. "Don't be like that. Have faith…be hopeful. I'm sure someone will come and be in our club. You just have to wait a bit longer, okay? I promise…"  
"Well, thanks, I guess. I'll try to be _hopeful _and _have faith_." Jarr'ah offered a half-grin, not fully convinced, but willing to try for Mortalia's sake.  
"You two will never stop being so cute? I can't tell if its youth or something else, but you two are surely adorable." Aquaria noted.  
"We'd be even _more _adorable if instead we weren't a pair, but at least a trio." Jarr'ah said, his smile somewhat disappointed.  
"Perhaps…I could be of assistance." A new voice announced from the doorway. Again, the three of them glanced in the same direction.  
Although the room had now grown silent, a gasps sounded.


	6. Chapter 5

*{Chapter 5}

The spacious room fell silent as the mysterious guest of which had been long awaited for entered the room. It approached, taking few steps forward. It stood, it's stance that of a character that belonged to the befitting mannerism of mystifying and undoubtedly mysterious. Somehow, its aura seemed of a graceful raw bitterness, yet it withheld the kindest of tight smiles.  
"My name," it spoke, its voice so very honeyed and hurriedly; soothing, flowing, yet respectively quiet as it spoke. It had been very pleasing and somewhat sly. "Is Symphony Phantomhive."  
Mortalia's face lit to an intense red at the sight of the creature before her. Dressed in a loose see through black shirt with lengthy dramatic sleeves and large lacy black bow, a clingy unable-to-breath black corset that exposed its small chest through the sheer black shirt, firm-fitting black knee high shorts, and tall scaling up the calf stopping just below the knee black boots with a skinny heel and multiple buckles that strapped down the leg of the boots, the creature appeared before them in an outfit worn with a vintage flair and mainstream theme. In its lengthened rebellious and yet obedient waved blazing fire orange hair with an attractive burnt orange tint was a black rose accessory with two long ribbons falling lightly against its face along with the stands of blazing orange hair that fall over its eyes and kissed its visibly lovely cheekbones outlines. It had radiant foreign frosted pale skin sprinkled with almost invisible freckles, while the lips of which it spoke with were full and swollen and was the color of a passionate frosted pink with a somewhat natural polished luster. Its eyebrows were thin and brown, arched to perfection with every hair in place and its eyelashes bold, sweepingly and long while also being somehow seductive and billowing. It had bewitching slanted almond shaped eyes that were intensely serious with colors that mimicked a busy highway at night with colors of piercing almost unseen ivory, temped scorning pieces and flickers of a dark yellow, and a grim forest green with a slight blur that included a flash of white that lingered about. Shielding those exotic eyes were frameless glasses with thin, pale golden colored legs and square lens. There was a stud piercing that gleamed under the corner of its lower lip and a silver ring nose piercing that somehow made itself visible on its long, pointed nose. Its neck was quite long, its collarbone quite deep, while the rest of its body had been bony and lanky. Still, its figure was curvaceous, thin and bony, while also being quite elongated with a long length that allowed it to be somewhat tall. Its nails were the color of nightmare black, as its attire had been.  
The red on Mortalia's face had deepened, as it had been quite the attractive being with such divine features in looks with a somewhat wayward aspect in fashion. Truly, it had been a creature with the appearance and visual of a Normie female, yet its grace had the demeanor of an arrogant Normie male. For some reason, Mortalia found herself becoming instantly attracted to this creature, as did Jarr'ah by the distracted look on his blushing face.  
"Symphony," Jarr'ah repeated, his voice faint and eyes still appearing quite dazed. He blinked at the monster, offering something like an interested, curious smile that was still friendly and welcoming, but somewhat flirtatious like. "Was it?"  
"Correct." The monster said, pushing its glasses further up the bridge of its frosted pale freckled nose. It blinked, its eyelashes sweeping its cheeks. "And your name…Jarr'ah with the surname of Sully, am I right?"  
Jarr'ah nodded, glancing over to Mortalia. "Um, yeah."  
"Correct me if I happen to be wrong," Symphony spoke, taking a seat atop of the nearest wooden desk. The black corset that clung to his black sheer shirt seemed to tighten. He kicked his black boots, listened to the sound of the buckles for a moment. "One does not have to be _gay _to count as a participant in this association, correct? Or possibly…is the information I've required inaccurate?"  
"No." Jarr'ah watched as Symphony's eyes narrowed. "You're right, I mean, um, your information is accurate."  
"That's lovely to hear." The monster said with a genuinely taming smile that seemed somehow sinful and yet content. The expression of its face was grimly pleased. In that moment, he became more mysterious.  
"Are you…?" Mortalia stepped forward, her eyes wide with hope that she had been wrong in assuming what she was thinking.  
Jarr'ah already had Holt, what more did he need?  
"That's a secret." Symphony let out a soft chuckle.  
"Oh…um, I see." Mortalia lowered her head, wandering about her own thoughts. Bats fluttered about her stomach. She grew self conscious all of a sudden into of this mysterious creature.  
"Anywho, I assume you're still short on members, yes? Well, I'd like to count myself as an official member, if that's fine." Symphony said, its voice riveting and gentle, something like handsome.  
"Oh my Na'vi, are you serious? Really, really serious?" Jarr'ah said, becoming excited as he began to slightly bounce, not that he noticed.  
"My, my, I do believe I am quite serious, my pet." Its blink was slow and casual, as if this situation hadn't been something like a miracle.  
"Did you hear that, Tallie?" Jarr'ah stuck to Mortalia, hugging her. "He's so super serious! Can you believe it?"  
"U-Um, n-no." Mortalia answered shyly, having awoken from her momentary daydream. She hugged the arm that was wrapped around her neck. "This is great…!"  
"I know right?" Jarr'ah pulled away and then turned to Symphony. "But one quick question: What _are_ you exactly?"  
"Me? Why, aren't we curious? Let's see…I am a male Siren, as in alluring enchantress that can make anyone obey by their will. I am also part Demon, or supernatural being that consumes souls of those that they serve, but that's only after my master dies, of course. I am also part Human." Symphony replied.  
"Master?" Mortalia asked somewhat, gazing at the manster with curious, puzzled eyes. She wanted to know everything about him.  
"Yes, master, or owner, if the word fits." Symphony said, grabbing his throat. He's been parched. "Seeing as how my Siren powers allow _me _to be master, while being Human allows me to roam freely without such things as an owner, this means I beckon to no one. Had I been fully Demon, this may have been a different story. If I were born full Demon, my need to feed on Human souls would no doubt _force _me to become someone's slave. But I possess free will, thankfully."  
"That's so…" Jarr'ah mumbled, unsure how to finish his sentence.  
"So wicked electric." Holt said entering the room. Everyone looks at him in confusion, he gave a cool grin. "Got room for one more?"  
"Now it seems we're one member short." Aquaria noted.

_*Quick Note: _

_For further clarification on who Aquaria is, please refer to my "Sink or Swim" story for a better explanation. I didn't really explain her all too much for some reason. Odd, right? :)  
Also: in the before chapter (chapter 4) two ghouls were brought into the chapter. In case some get confused, please refer to my "Once Upon a Dullahan" story. They are both characters from that FanFic. _

_That's all, hoped you guys enjoyed!~ ^_^"""_


	7. Chapter 6

*{Chapter 6}

Symphony approached the group of GSA, strutting towards them with a suddenly overpowering grace that made his walk both elegant and somewhat slow. He approached them gracefully putting one foot in front of the other, his hips swaying with poise. Mortalia's face reddened.

"Sometimes I can't believe he's a manster." Jarr'ah said with in soft whisper, his eyes intense gazing at Symphony as he admired the monster's pure elegance. Mortalia blinked, glancing over to him. She hadn't been aware that he was watching too, but then, how could he not?

"What do you mean?" she asks, lowering her eyes timidly as she nibbled on one of her fried alligator nuggets.

"I was talking about his choice in clothes and…you know, just the way he looks. It's different – sort of like he's catch between two genders. It makes you wonder how a monster could be so beautiful, you know?" Jarr'ah smiled widely, his giggle soft. Mortalia's eyes returned to Symphony, taking note of his attire. Like yesterday, his outfit consisted of Gothic vintage mainstream flair all wrapped in one, however today his choice of clothing seemed to be more feminine. With his black commando shorts that were so short they could easily be mistaken for undergarments, black crinoline cage made entirely of black steel that framed around his backside, black Mary Jane pumps with a skinny heels and red back while also having a skinny buckle and round toe, black stockings that hugged to his long slender legs, black clingy Lolita long blouse with the lace rimmed neck and sleeves with multiple buttons, and ponytail that had swept all the hair away from his forehead and created somewhat of a bump and perky wavy ponytail, he leaked a dark, exotic feminine charm, as if somehow belonging to some type of circus.  
Jarr'ah had been right. Symphony had been a creature that appeared as if stuck between two genders.

She blinked, her eyes becoming dazed as she realized the intensity of his beauty. As he walked, he seemed to blur a bit as he "expanded", morphing into three silhouettes, like shadows often did. Mortalia began to wandering about her mind, everything beginning to fade into darkness and become surrounded by black, everything expect Symphony. Voice around her faded. "He surely leaves an impression." She spoke quietly.

"Tallie?" she heard the voice of her bestie, sounding muffled in her ears. "You OK? Everything alright?"

"_Release me…_" she spoke faintly. "_Release me…_"

"Say what now?" Jarr'ah questioned, lifting a slim black eyebrow.  
Mortalia slowly shut her eyes, listening. She hadn't realized she'd been speaking a loud as she listened. "_Release me from this curse…I don't want to be this way anymore. I don't…want to look this way. I don't want to be beautiful! Make all the staring stop…_"

"Um, should I go get the nurse?" Jarr'ah said, half joking and half worried.

"_Release me from this curse I'm in!_"

"What curse, dear? You're fine." Jarr'ah rolled his eyes, recalling all the pranks Mortalia use to play on him back when they were still in Monster middle school. Suddenly, without warning, Mortalia fell against, feeling cold and heavy. He glanced over to her worriedly, his eyes now intense with concern. "Mortalia? Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Tallie, you alright?" Holt questioned.  
She lifted, blinking her eyes open. She lifted her head to him, leaned it over ever so slightly. "What just happened?"

"I…don't know." Jarr'ah said, staring at her carefully. What _had _happened?

"How did I…? I was just walking over here and then I…" she leaned over, glancing back to Symphony, who was now standing at the center of the creepateria, a puzzled look on his handsome deeply feminine face. He looked around, as if not sure of his surroundings. "And then I blanked out."

"Oh my…ghoul." Jarr'ah said, his eyes widening with shock. "Symphony?"

Mortalia looked back over to Jarr'ah, blinking confusedly. Her eyes glared with bewilderment, her face hardening with seriousness. "What happened?"

"Tallie must have been reading your mind…and then somehow _accidently_ transferred your souls – or something along those lines, I'm sure." Jarr'ah answered, remembering the old days when Mortalia couldn't fully control her powers and often did these things. "I'm positive she hadn't meant to."

"All this talk of reading minds and transferring souls…really…she's one to fear." Symphony, trapped in Mortalia's body said grimly, standing from his seat.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jarr'ah stood too, following behind Symphony and he began to walk away, heading towards the confused Mortalia.  
Holt sighed loudly, shaking his head. He too followed.

"Come with me, _now_." Symphony demanded, taking his own frosted pale hand. He realized how grey Mortalia's skin was compared to his. Before he'd just thought their complexion had just been the same…

"Where are we going?" Mortalia spoke through Symphony, walking backwards in his body as he walked quickly forward.

Symphony stopped walking once they were out of the creepateria and in the hallway. He glanced around, making sure no one was watching. "Alright, do it now before someone sees."  
"Um…do what?" Mortalia asked, clueless.  
Symphony sighed, making Mortalia's expression seem angry. "_Fix _this. I can't be stuck in your body…it's…well, it's just plain strange. So fix this, fix this whole odd situation."  
"Well…uh, we may have a problem." Symphony's face grew red as Mortalia did somewhat of a shy pose.

"What is it?" Symphony questioned, causing Mortalia's dark purple eyebrow to lift.

"I, um…have no idea how I did this." She said, looking away guiltily.  
"You…have no idea how…OK, never mind then. Just, I don't know, read my – er, _your _mind or something." Symphony said, looking away awkwardly.  
"Um, o-okay." Mortalia said with an obedient nod, bumping Symphony's head to hers. She watched, worried as her body stumbled back.

Symphony rubbed her aching head. "Ouch…"

"Oh, um, s-sorry. I didn't mean to, honest!" she muttered, her eyes apologetic.  
Symphony waved her words away, cling his eyes. "Yes, yes, let's just get this done with."

"Okay." Mortalia nodded, causing Symphony's blazing orange ponytail with the burnt orange tint to bounce. "Just…um, think about something."

Symphony gave a nod, his thought beginning to tangle and linger about. A thought formed, an image of a lively green hummingbird came to mind. It had majestic black wings with green shoulders, a long black beak, beady black eyes, and a white with black polka doted cheeks, neck, chest, and stomach. Its legs were white and its claws were a shade of brown. In Symphony's thoughts the bird chirped a song, singing a tone that he recognized, one that he himself had played on the piano. His had been the pianist that played along with the lovely tune. The hummingbird had been a singer with a voice that chirped accordingly and in sync. Together, they made sweet classical music that seems to fit Symphony so well.

Mortalia listened for a moment to the beautiful song playing. She waited until it was over to speak, silently through her thoughts. 'What pretty music.' She spoke.

'Yes, well, my Rarera is known for her pretty songs. She sings them all the time, but she'll only let others listen if I play the piano alongside her.' Symphony replied quietly, speaking only through thoughts.

'She sounds just like you, somehow. I can't explain it really. Anyway, I'm going to transfer us now, okay?'

'Sure, go right ahead, my pet.' A soft graced Mortalia's face, implying an emotion of peace that Symphony felt.

Then, to his dismay, he could feel himself growing light, fading. When he opened his eyes, he looked around for a moment, finding Mortalia standing in front of him. The smile that had been on her face was now on his.

Mortalia's eyes fluttered open, seeing Symphony standing in front of her. She smiled a smile of kindness. "That's good, it worked."

Symphony gave a nod, showing that he agreed. "Indeed it did. Shall we…return to our lunch then?"

Mortalia gave a simple nod, her face turning a shade of warm summer pink. "Sure."

As Symphony began to walk off, everyone else followed, Mortalia at his side. He offered a half-grin. "You _are _aware that you dropped my lunch, correct?"

"Oh…" Mortalia said with a wide, apologetic smile. "W-Well, to the lunch line we go, right?"

Symphony nodded, smiling delightfully evilly with a sickening sweet charm, as his family's butler, Sebastian, had often did. "Your treat, my pet."


	8. Chapter 7

*{Chapter 7}

"Alright!" Jarr'ah said cheerfully. "I've got it!"  
Mortalia, like everyone else in the room, glanced over at him. She blinked, reading the writing on the chalk board. "Got what?"  
The chalkboard read:

GSA members:

Jarr'ah (Commander and chief) (Team captain) (Head of the committee)

Mortalia (Secretary) (Task Manager) (Events Legislator)

Symphony (Advisor Facilitator – handles all of the advertising)

Holt (Pretty much the Mascot…er, Spokesman)

Ms. Webber (Club Advisor) ("Lawyer" that handles anything that needs legal attention…) (Boss Manager) (The Man)

"What might this be?" Symphony questioned, sitting on top of the desk Mortalia was seated to. He raked long, thin fingers with sharp long nails through his lazily free orange hair, carelessly with some amount of slowness. Somehow, he seemed quite tired.  
"Mascot?" Holt asked, his face stiff and eyes glaring, ablaze by the offense he felt. His glare seared Jarr'ah, singing him ever so slightly.  
Jarr'ah gave a twitching, yet innocent smile, making a cute defensive pose. "Oh firecracker, just think of it as Spokesmen, won't you? It's easier on my life that way…I mean you don't want to _really_ kill…do you?"  
Holt's eyes glanced to the red apple on Aquaria's desk as he considered his options for a thought. Still, his fire glare did not go out. "Well…Spokesmen are important to a team, right? They get us sponsors, or whatever."  
"You mean members, hun." Jarr'ah said, going over to Holt. He stopped behind him, wrapped his arms around him apologetically. "But yes, you're very important to this club."  
"Scorchin'." Holt said, smiling up to Jarr'ah, adoring him with loving eyes, as if he'd been the cutest monster on earth.  
Symphony gagged intentionally, creating a noise that openly expressed his disgust. "Get a room."  
"This _is _a room." Jarr'ah said, closing his eyes as he reached his chin to Holt's fire-colored hair.  
"Fine, point taken." Symphony shrugged, crossing his legs at the knee. He countered, "Get a _different _room."  
"You're just jealous." Jarr'ah stated with a caring smile at Holt. "Because you've never dated and don't understand the wonderful gift of joy that comes with these wonderful feelings…"  
"Never dated?" Symphony repeated, hopping from the desk and making a light thud to the floor. He walked over to the closed window, leaning his back against it. He folded his arms, let his head fall over to the side. His blazing-and-burnt-orange ponytail fell closer to his face, ticking his frosted white cheeks. "I must say, you're wrong about that one, dear friend. I've been in a relationship before, mind you – one that _isn't _a friend-based relationship."  
"You have?" Jarr'ah stood straight, his eyes wide with shock.  
Symphony's eyes narrowed. "Well now, please, do show me a true face of alarm. Your expression isn't quite taken aback enough."  
"So, um, who did you dated?" Mortalia asked, now standing too, although she didn't realized it. Her hands, now folded into a crown, were pressed closely to her small chest. Her expression was one of disappointment.  
"Ah, so I've gained your interest, have I? Well, well then…it would be my greatest of desires to answer any of questions. To begin, _who_: she was a fine ghoul, one of great refinement and poise that possessed a grand amount of pure charisma and lure. She often made others quite fascinated with her to much of an extreme. Her essence was one of beauty, her visual rich and innocent, however, it wasn't her looks that gave her an edge. It was her elegance whenever she would dance ballet. It had been her upmost specialty, something she'd mastered." Symphony said, recalling many memories he himself had been quite fond of.  
"Oh my, what was her name?" Jarr'ah asked, excited.  
Symphony waited a moment before answering, wondering whether or not to address them with her name. He hesitated, questioning himself it would be OK. He then shrugged his shoulders casually. "My young maiden was gifted with the lovely name of Odile the Second at the peak of her birth. She's known about this school as The Golden Swan for her black wings and suave ballet."  
"She sounds…quite…pretty." Mortalia mumbles, lowering her eyes. The purple darkness in them seemed to darken.  
"Yes, that she is." Symphony stated with low confidence, as if he couldn't remember just of beautiful she'd been, despite how he looked at only her. "Quite pretty indeed."  
"Do you still feel for her, maybe?" Jarr'ah asked, curiosity lingering in his pale, oily yellow eyes. He sat in the seat he'd pushed near Holt and took his arm, leaning his head to Holt's red leather covered shoulder.  
"I wonder, would I be lying if I gave the answer no?" Symphony said quietly, his eyes no longer full of that certain smugness and arrogance that shielded him. Somehow, he felt exposed, his feelings venerable.  
"Maybe we should stop for today," Holt said softly, coolly. "Guy looks like he's about to cry any moment."  
"Yeah, maybe you're right." Jarr'ah said with a half-grin, trying to sound cheery as he usually was. "How about we all go and get some ice-cream? Have either of you ever tried _chocolate _flavored? I hear it's pretty popular at Marley's since the Normies always eat it."  
"No thanks, I do believe I am late." Symphony said, unfolding his arms as he leaned up from against the window, as if coming to life.  
"Late?" Mortalia said, being caught off guard when he began to move quickly all of a sudden. She watched as he grabbed his black shoulder bag, heading towards to door speedily.  
"Why yes, I was suppose to pick up someone quite a while ago, seems I've forgotten." Symphony said, exiting the room.  
Mortalia followed, jogging to catch up. She stopped at his side, although still walking quite fast to keep up. "Where? I mean…um, can I go along too? I wouldn't mind…maybe, keeping you company on the way."  
"Just to the gymnasium, but why not, pet. I wouldn't mind company if it's yours." Symphony said, beginning to jog slightly, widening his steps. Mortalia's cheeks flushed, turning the color of apple red as she witnessed the soft smile placed along his face. He seemed to relax, giving off a calm demeanor next to her. "Um…thanks. I'm glad. We aren't as close like you are with the other members, so I was worried – I mean, since you can joke around with them and all! I was worried about us being awkward around each other, even when we weren't together during club hours."  
"Is that so?" Symphony noted, now half-walking half-jogging down the long hall. He looked at Mortalia's blushing red face as they turned the corner to a new hall. "Well, we're comrades, are we not? It may take time for us to get to know each other and to get use to each other, but I doubt we'll ever be awkward around each other. We're friends, after all."  
"We…are?" Mortalia mumbled, breathing heavily as she jogged. "We're friends? Really, we are?"  
"Yes, my pet. Really." Symphony said, offering a sweet smile. Finally they stopped at the entrance of the gymnasium, out of breath of course. He swung open the tall wooden periwinkle blue gym doors. Greeting them was a cyclops ghoul who had been sitting on the floor with creamy toffee skin, eggnog colored eye that seemed to glow, plumped pink lips, and platinum peroxide blonde hair dressed in a creamy vanilla leotard and lace tutu with white stockings and pink ballet point shies. Her smile was bright and caring as she spotted Symphony.  
"Hey there, Symphony! You sure know how to keep a ghoul waiting, don't you?" she said, her voice jokingly sweet.  
Mortalia turned her head away slightly, lowering her dark purples eyes yet again as she uncomfortable crossed her arms under her chest. She cocked her neck, lowering her head too as she stole a glance at Symphony. Had the beautiful cyclops been his _new _ghoulfriend? Were they dating?  
"Sorry about that, Iris. Our club time went longer than I thought." Symphony said, his beautiful exotic eyes looking around frantically, as if he'd lost something.  
"Yeah, I know. I understand, no need to explain. Sooo…" Iris's smile was curious, her eyes friendly. "…Is this your ghoulfriend? You know Odile won't like that, not at all."  
Mortalia fidgeted, although not sure if it had been because of the word _ghoulfriend _or having heard Odile's name. Her eyes meant Iris's eye, causing her to blush tickled pink and looks away shyly.  
"Ghoulfriend?" Symphony glanced to Mortalia, returning to the conversation. "Oh no, she's just a club-mate of mine who kept me company on the way here. Anywho, more important, where is she?"  
"She, she _who_?" Iris mocked with innocent blink. "Odile? Or maybe…?"  
Symphony puffed, sighing as his eyes narrowed behind his rimless glasses. "_She _as in my little pet."  
Mortalia's shoulders slummed at his response, her face now returning to its pale grey. She didn't dare look at him, as if she did it would mean she'd been confirming what he'd said.  
"You meannn…_her_?" Iris said playfully.  
"Yes, yes. I mean _her_. Where is she? I don't see her around?" Symphony said, looking around one last time to verify that he didn't see her.  
A tuneful giggle escaped from Iris. She spun her spine around. "Hey Odile, Symphony is here to pick her up now!" she called.  
"Oh no," a lovely voice of pure softness called back. Light steps ran against a white tile floor in the distant. Suddenly appearing from inside the gym's back entrance hallway was a ghoul of youthful beauty. She'd been goddess-worthy with fair porcelain pastel flesh, long midnight wings for arms, eyes the color of, midnight black polished sleek hair that was tied into a neat bun, rosy painted cheeks, a heart shaped face, and long sculpted legs that ran in soft brown point shoes. She ran across the glossy wooden gym floors towards the three of them, her legs natural extending into a jump and flexing widely like a true ballerina. Finally she stopped on the side of Iris, collapsing dramatically. Her expression was one of sorrow that pleaded for pity. "I'm so sorry, Symphony! The trust is: I lost her, please forgive me – it wasn't my intension! One moment I was trying to take her out of her ballet costume, the next she was gone. She must've escaped when I turned my back to get her clothes out of my gym bag. Honest, I have no idea where she went. I feel so guilty for letting her out of my sight like I did."  
Mortalia bit her lip, growing even more uncomfortable in the face of Odile. She'd lost whatever small amount of confidence she had. She began feeling very awkward and somehow like she wasn't even a girl anymore. As if she had not been feminine.  
Symphony sighed loudly, tiredly beside her. "That girl, always playing these games with people. Don't worry about it, she just really likes hide and seek."  
Mortalia blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"  
"I'll explain later. For now…Ashleigh!" he called, going to search for her. "Ashleigh come out now, you've won!"  
Mortalia pressed her lips tightly together. She felt like escaping herself.  
Had she not been trustworthy enough to know? Did he not want to tell her in front of the two indeed pretty ghouls? Did they know…but not her? Was this Ashleigh ghoul…his actual ghoulfriend?  
"Don't worry about it." Iris said to her.  
"Huh?" Mortalia questioned.  
Odile looked at her with some amount of interest and politeness. Her smile had been calmly pleasant and friendly. "She's right, you shouldn't worry. He's just…attached maybe is the right word?"  
"No, no," Iris shook her head. "More like obsessed."  
"Obsessed?" Mortalia questioned, her eyes wide with concern.  
Odile gave Iris's arm a good slap. "Don't frighten her like that, stop joking around. Ignore her. What I meant to say was: he's just _responsible_."  
"I…don't get what you mean." Mortalia said, feeling bad for not understand what the pretty ghoul meant. She so wished she had her cloak today, but her father had hidden it from her, in attempt to help her gain assurance and self esteem. Dressed in her wrinkled jeans, itchy grey turtleneck sweater, and purple pull over long wrinkled shirt with her black All-Star converse, she felt exposed and unfeminine. She felt even more unfeminine due to her wild, untamable dark purple curls that never seemed to work with her.  
"Well, you see," Iris began. "Symphony sort of takes care of Ashleigh so he feels responsible for her all the time. She's always by his side, but today he asked us to baby-sit her since he was going to his first club meeting. We said yes since we didn't have Ballet Club today."  
"He was super worried ever since he let go of her hand." Odile giggled softly, recalling the alarming look on Symphony's face.  
"Baby-sit?" Mortalia asked. "Is she younger than him?"  
"Yeah, by a few years at least," Iris gave a bright smile.  
So…now only did Symphony have a ghoulfriend, but he was older than her too? So did that mean he only liked ghouls younger than him?  
Mortalia sighed, narrowing her eyes at her realization. "Well…anyway, we should help look." She suggested.  
"Yeah, you're right. Since its our faults, we should take responsibility." Iris said, standing. She dusted off dust she couldn't see from her tutu.  
"Totally." Odile said joyfully, standing too. "It wouldn't be right if we didn't, right?"  
"Right." Iris agreed, softly head butting Odile, causing her to stumble back. "Let's get to it."  
"Yeah," Odile smiled, taking Mortalia's hands and offering an enthusiastic smile. "Let's. it might help cheer you up if we do this together."  
"Together?" Mortalia blinked, surprised by the sudden friendliness and caring gestures. She hadn't expected Odile to be so friendly.  
"Yeah," Iris said, taking Mortalia's other hand. "Let's do this, together!"


	9. Chapter 8

*{Chapter 8}

"Ashleigh, enough is enough now! We've searched everywhere for you, that's enough of this. The game is over now, don't you think?" Symphony called out. A giggle sounded about the gym, echoing loudly. The three ghouls looked up, seeing where the voice had come from. They looked over to Symphony, starting to laugh.  
"Found me." Ashleigh said, dropping from above and now dangling from his neck. She swayed, her arms tightly around his neck.  
"She's such a silly thing, isn't she?" Iris said with a giggle as she trotted down the dull green bleachers.  
Mortalia's head fell to the side. "_That's _Ashleigh?"  
"Yep, that's Ashleigh." Odile nodded, smiling playfully. "Cute, don't you think?"  
"Cute?" Mortalia repeated, staring at the girl. She's been a Normie with butchered, all over the place, messy yet straight red hair, peach skin, and dark curious, questioning eyes. She had a small button nose and was wearing a green dinosaur costume. "How did she even get in Monster High? Sure, she's wearing that costume…but you can tell she's not a monster at all."  
"Don't be so sure." Symphony said as Odile and Mortalia joined them. "She's quite the…something or other."  
Iris giggled, Odile smiled. Mortalia gave a half-grin, not satisfied with that answer. "What do you mean?"  
"Well she's human and more or less part monster." Symphony answered with a lazy shrug. "Want to show her, Leigha?"  
The Normie girl, around the age of five or so nodded confidently, jumping from Symphony's arms. "Sure, Leigha will show her."  
Mortalia blinked in confusion as the Normie girl took her hand. "What are you doing?"  
"You'll see." Symphony said, rolling his eyes.  
"Ouch!" Mortalia's eyes darted over to Symphony. "She just _bit _me."  
Ashleigh waited a moment before giving a squeeze to Mortalia's hand, forcing Mortalia to look back to her. She looks up at her, letting her head fall back, her feisty red hair falling from her face. The green dinosaur face looked up at her too. "You're a Demon type monster."  
"What?" Mortalia said, a little freaked out. She took a step away.  
Ashleigh blinked her black eyes. "You're like Ashleigh too. You're also part Human. Ashleigh knows."  
"Creepy," Mortalia said, going to hide behind Odile. "What is she?"  
Symphony smiled softly, caringly as she caught the jumping Ashleigh that was falling into his arms. He picked her back up, carrying her on his hip.  
"Like I said, more or less human and something or other. She can absorb any monster's personal information fairly quickly just by biting them. It's sort of her way of getting to know someone, if you will." Symphony said, pitching the girl's nose. When slapping at his hand didn't work, he shook her head fiercely, forcing him to let go.  
"Yeah, but she only speaks to a monster once – and that's when she's meeting them. Its only to guess their monster species. She doesn't speak to them after that." Iris added, crossing her arms.  
"Other than that, it's like she's basically mute, but will only speak to Symphony. " Odile noted.  
"Think of it as having a reflective tone." Symphony said to Mortalia. "Don't take it personally."  
"Um, I won't." Mortalia blinked. "So, who is she anyway?"  
"Her full name is Ashleigh Louis Portmen, but she allows me to call her Leigha. She likes to eat, pretend to breathe fire like a demon hound when dressed in her dinosaur costume, play hide and seek, and bother me, isn't that right, Leigha?" Symphony asked, lifting the girl in the air. She started to scream, as if being afraid of heights. She pulls his hair, demanded he put her down. When he didn't and began to spin, she screamed even more.  
"Enough, _please_." Iris said, putting her hands over her ears.  
Symphony chuckled, sitting her down calmly, as if not affected from the spinning. Ashleigh swayed a bit, dizzy. "Well then, shall we get you home then, Leigha? We can stop for ice-cream on the way."  
She gave a nod, still holding his hand. "Leigha wants ice-cream."  
"Alright then, its settled." He said to her and rustled her exposed red hair. She shook her head again to get him to stop, put back on her dinosaur hood. The mouth of the dinosaur served as an opening for her face. Symphony turned to Mortalia, offered a warm smile. "Will you be coming along?"  
She nodded shyly. "I'd, um…love to…I mean, I could go for some ice-cream, if Ashleigh doesn't mind."  
"Well, do you?" Symphony asked the small girl. She shook her head, her expression blank. She blinked, running over to Mortalia. She took her hand, pulled her over to Symphony and took his hand too. The three of them were now linked.  
Mortalia smiled, blushing just a bit. "Odile was right, you _are_ cute."  
"Anywho, we'll be taking our leave now. Goodbye the two of you." Symphony said, nodding to his friends as they began to walk.  
"Bye!" Iris called, waving.  
"Have fun without us!" Odile called too.  
As Symphony shut the gym door, Ashleigh bended her knees, putting up her legs into a sitting position. Mortalia giggled. "Should we swing you then?"  
The girl looked up to Mortalia for a moment. Although she didn't smile or laugh, or even offer a simple nod, her eyes seemed to dance happily.  
"Let's a good idea, pet." Symphony said as they stalked down the maze-like halls.  
"Um, about 'pet'…" Mortalia said quietly with a timid tone. Symphony glanced over to her, catching her drift and getting her hint.  
"Alright then," he said, his eyes now more gentle as he stared at her. Somehow she became prettier, like a girl who had matured in her appearance over the summer. She seemed like more of a woman, a maiden with fair looks. As of now, he'd been looking at her differently, acknowledging that she was now a girl in his eyes.  
He chuckled softly to himself, his eyes narrowing. "How about I refer to you as 'love'?"  
Mortalia continued walking, her knees now feeling wobbly as her lips seem to fidget and prevent her from speaking. Her heart pounded in her chest, causing an invasion of butterflies and nervousness. She grew warm quickly under her turtleneck and extra shirt with her wrinkled jeans, her temperature rising. She gave a nod, smiling bashfully, her eyes twinkling.


	10. Chapter 9

*{Chapter 9}

Mortalia's heart swelled in her chest as Symphony's hand lightly touched her own hand. She bit her ice-cream sandwich, blushing a fine red.  
"Your turn," he reminded her.  
She nodded. "Yeah, I know. Um, well…since you're a sophomore, you should be sixteen, right?"  
He nodded. "Yep, in human years anyway, however in demon years…well, my age is around two hundred and forty-six, or so – give or take a few years."  
"Is that in years?" Mortalia asked, sitting up from the flowing grass. Her dark onyx robe sat up with her. Pieces of grass took shelter in her wild curls and on her cloak as well.  
Symphony sat up, picked the grass pieces from her hair carefully and brushing grass from her shoulders and hood. "I believe so, yes. That sounds about quite right."  
"You've really…lived that long?" Mortalia asked quietly, somehow unable to grasp that fact. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. Symphony had been two hundred and forty-sex years old, meaning he'd lived for many years before she was even born and would probably live for many years after her death. Sudden, she was overtaken by sadness and overwhelmed with a heavy loneness. "That's so…sad."  
"Perhaps, but it'll be fine. Anyway, was that your question?" he asked now looking directly at her. She blinked her eyes away, blushing.  
"Um, no." She said falling back to the grass. "My question was: can you drive? A lot of sophomores can – I've seen their cars outside in the parking lot along with some of the juniors and seniors."  
"What need is there to be bound by driving an automobile when I possess the gift of god-like swiftness and immoral acrobatic necessities and can access these capabilities whenever needed? I see no point in such trivial matters such as driving. I would gain nothing from learning."  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I can see what you mean." Mortalia said, taking a bite of her dark chocolate sandwich bread. They helped soothe the coldness of the vanilla ice-cream.  
"Alright, let's see…my question to you is…do you have any pets?" Symphony asked, looking over at her. His orange blazing hair with burnt orange highlights fell along the fresh green grass.  
"Well I had a Howler Monkey as a child. Her name was Rubby because she had pretty red eyes like jewels, but she ran away...Now we don't really keep pets. But there's Fido! He's a talking alien dog that's green with three freckles on each cheek. He also has as an accent, but I don't know where from. He can turn into green slim and return to his dog form whenever he wants and his tongue has pimples and it can sketch super long, but he isn't really a pet that belongs to us. He's more of a close family friend that lives in a parallel-universe and visits occasionally. What about you, do you have any pets?"  
Symphony paused, taking a moment to think. "Assuming you mean other than the two you've met, well, there's a Demon Hound that we keep. His name is Pluto. He's all white with blood red beady eyes and a blood red collar. He's quite friendly, but takes a while to warm up to people, but if he knows you well and sees you from time to time, he'll get really excited and into a human."  
"Really?" Mortalia said, turning her head to look at him. In her dark purple eyes was astonishment. "That's so cool!"  
"Let's hear you say that when you get attack-hugged by a necked Normie with a slimy tongue." Symphony chuckled.  
Mortalia giggled lightly. "He sounds like a sweetheart."  
Symphony smiled warmly, gazing upon Mortalia's facial features. Truly she had been quite the fair maiden. "I suppose he is, love. You'll just have to see when you get around to meeting him."  
Mortalia bit her lips, turning her head back straight so that she could look up at the sky, hoping it'd distract her. Her cheeks, once again, turned red.  
"Look, look!" Ashleigh called in the distance from the playground located far away the big grass hill. Symphony and Mortalia sat up, waved so that she knew that they could see her. She waved back, as if telling them that she received the signal. "Come look!"  
"I guess we can no longer speak freely and relax as we have been doing." Symphony said, the first to get up. He raked fingers through his lengthy hair, shaking out the grass.  
Mortalia combed through her curls, doing the same. "I suppose not. Let's go see what all the fuss is about."  
"Of course," Symphony said, offering his hand. Mortalia shyly took it, lowering her eyes in the process. Symphony smiled at her cuteness. "I wonder what we're going to see when we get over there."  
"A sandcastle, maybe?" Mortalia said as she stood and began to walk with Symphony, still holding his hand.  
"Perhaps," Symphony said with a composed, cool smile.

"Hey, isn't that Symphony?" Jarr'ah asked, pointing.  
Mortalia glanced in the direction he was pointing in, saw a Symphony clothed in a grimly passionate crimson velvet dress, classic black fishnet stockings, and tall suede black wedges with thin ankle straps. His hair had been wore down, and waved. She blinked. "Yeah, that's him…I think."  
"We should go and say hi, since we're club mates and all." Jarr'ah said, his smile perky as he took Mortalia's arm, beginning to drag her off.  
"Wait, hold on, Jarr'ah," Mortalia said, although too late. "He's talking to someone, I don't want to interrupt."  
Jarr'ah stopped, putting a hand to his hip. He sighed loudly, allowing an eye-roll. "But Mortalia, I'm sure he wouldn't mind! To him your-"  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Symphony said, creating a loud banging noise as his fist slammed against one of the darker purple coffin lockers. Mortalia's eyes darted to him in an instant, now panicked.  
The monster who seemed to threaten Symphony had been someone Mortalia hadn't seen before. Much like Symphony and Mortalia, this monster's skin was some off color of white, somewhere in between Symphony's perfectly white skin and Mortalia's tined grey flesh. The monster's eyes were black, her hair too. Like Mortalia's, it had been wild, untamable and rebellious, as if it had a life of its own. It had been messy, as if never combed, yet it had an intense luster that made it somehow attractive, beautiful. With nails painted fully black, the monster had a smile dangerous, sharp because of its pointy teeth. Like Symphony, it had a build that was unattainably thin and sleek, yet somehow a bit lanky. It had broad shoulder, a round face.  
Mortalia couldn't help but wonder: had this type of monster been Symphony's type maybe? Could she one day…somehow…fit herself into that sort of type if that had been Symphony's type? Would he take a little more notice of her if she tried?  
"She's cute," Jarr'ah stated. "Ghoul's got a great style."  
Mortalia glanced at her best friend for a moment; was that _all _he noticed?  
She blinked her eyes back over to the monster, taking a glance at its attire. Her lips parted, her eyes no longer blinking, as if just having realized the monster's clothing, due to being distracted by its feminine face. Like the hand-tie in its wild, unruly black hair, the rest of her outfit had been blue. Its first shirt had short sleeves and its color was fully black. Across it was the design of a single chain that had been a damped shade of a somewhat turquoise blue. The monster's second shirt was long-sleeved, with baggy arms. It was unevenly stripped with midnight black and a lovely shade of night blue. The skirt it wore was plaid blue, with three shades of the same damped turquoise-like blue, neon blue, and blue-grey. Around its neck was a tight fully black chocker and climbed to the upper calf of its legs were black boots, leather. Between its plaid blue skirt and short-sleeved shirt with the damped blue chain going across it was its stomach that revealed an "inny" navel.  
Jarr'ah had been right, this monster did have a cute style.  
Mortalia sighed worriedly; what was happening over there?  
The monster stepped closer to Symphony, causing him to take a half step back. The monster had now officially pinned Symphony in his place.  
When it lifted his arm and put a hand to Symphony's cheek, Symphony turned his face away, his expression one of pure, raw disgust.  
"I just missed you is all. Is that _so_ wrong?" it spoke. Its voice was low, dark and yet soothing and enchanting.  
"I thought I told you to never appear before me again…" Symphony said in a chocked voice. His hand had been trembling.  
The monster's hand slithered down Symphony's frosted white neck and stopped at his chest. Mortalia watched in discomfort as it placed a kiss to Symphony's jaw, and then his neck. Symphony's eyes been widened in fear when the monster placed a kiss behind his ear, his lips trembled just as his hands did.  
"Stop it!" Symphony said, trying to control his will power as he pushed to the monster away, his shaking hands gripping tightly to his shoulders. He didn't dare make eye contact.  
"Such a cute reaction." The monster had with a delighted vicious smile. "I was hoping that was still your sensitive spots, _one _of them anyway."  
Symphony's face lit to a bright red, his expression now becoming blank, his eyes dazed and somewhere else. "What do you want from me?"  
The monster let out a slight laughing noise that was somehow more like a dark cough. Its black hair hid its feminine white face. "I'm just a little…bored. And looking for something _fun_."  
Symphony then glanced up, his highway-like eyes meeting the monster's own black eyes. It looked as if he'd been close to tears, his teeth jittering somewhat. "Why does it have to be me? You have other _toys _to play with, don't you?"  
The monster lifted to its tippy-toes, snaked its arms around Symphony, placed a kiss clouded with darkness on his swollen lips. Once it opened its eyes, it lowered. Symphony's face was one of true sorrow as he stared blankly, aimlessly at the wall. A smile of joyful darkness slipped on the monster's face as a tear escaped Symphony's eye. "That's good…"  
"What is?" Symphony spoke, his eyes now going back to the monster standing in front of him.  
"The fact that you're still in love with me. That's so very good to know…so very disgusting pleasing." It said, flashing a shamelessly sinful grin.  
Mortalia's eyes began to water as she stood there, silent and watching. Jarr'ah locked arms with her as the monster skipped past them, overly pleased with a razor-sharp smile. As Mortalia began to phase out and feel lightheaded the closer Jarr'ah dragged her towards Symphony, her heart stirred and mind began doing cartwheels.  
When they finally approached Symphony, he returned to his normal self, arrogant and proud, but now pain and a shattered pride lingered about his beautiful highway-like eyes.  
Jarr'ah gave him a look of sadness, as if he felt pity for him. In his heart, he truly wanted to show mercy to the monster, but he didn't know if he could. Would he allow himself to? He waited.  
"So…" he finally said. "Who was that?"  
"It was…no one of importance. He is…no one." Symphony answered, his eyes squinted, glaring with a sorrowful anguish and a shushed, quieted rage of regret.  
He_ is no one… _Mortalia heard the words as she slipped away from the scene, her vision no longer blurred and shaking. The colors around her no longer fused within themselves, creating something of a rainbow as the images cracked and broke and scene repeatedly shook.  
To herself, even if only for a moment, she thought: Finally, I'm saved. I don't have to confirm what I've seen with these eyes…I don't…have to force myself to look at him.  
And just as the darkness consumed all around her and the scene no longer remained, she escaped, fleeing into the depths of her mind, in hopes of repairing her disturbed closure.

_Talk about a mental break down…  
Anyway: Hey all! Author speaking!~  
Hopefully you all will welcome one of my FAVORITE Monster High OC's: Twig Reaper – and Symphony's eternal nightmare! (*Its fine, don't worry; even if you're not clapping, I am! ;v;*) _

_Twig is one of the best of the best OC's known to man and was created by the awesome and totally beyond epic: The-Nocturnal-Moth on DA. _

_Her homepage link is here: __ht tp : / /t he- noct urna l-m oth . d ev ian t ar t . c om /_

_The photo of my precious Twig I used to describe him is here: __h ttp : /br ows e . de via n t ar t . com /? qh = & sec ion=& q =m o nst er+ hi gh+ t wi g#/d 4 p f vh k_

_And for fun [I know I don't usually do this, but kill me and I will haunt you from my grave!] my favorite photo of Twig is here: h ttp: / / brow se . devia nt a rt . co m/ ?q h=&se ction=&q=mo nste r + h i gh+ tw ig # /d4r 00d y_

_Remember to delete the spaces!  
That's all, folks!~_


	11. Chapter 10

*{Chapter 10}

Mortalia stared up at the building, unable to believe what had been facing her. It was building; a building sitting on top of a rough blue-grey, soft sandy brown, off-white, and chaffed tofu brown hills that seemed to collapse and overlap one of top of the other, creating a vivid, dramatic stream of shades that molded into each other, as if joined mutually and pieced by the diverse shades of natural green and slight oranges that covered the them. As for the building itself, it was made of pure brick, standing quite tall, as if tall enough to reach the heavens. Its roof was some sort of solid wood, its window's glass. It was a building, one of overshadowing attractiveness. In the garage, also build of brick, was stored a black jeep, a Wrangler jeep to be specific. It was building, one that stored a car, a family, and memories. It was a home. A home that overlooked the glittering private white sandy beach by the name of Forbidden Island. With its haunting iced blue waters, the shade of fresh Alice blue, and the darkened grey rocks that laid about the vexed, thrashing Alice blue waters, the tides gave off the expression of being disturbed and unforgiving, brutal and without remorse. The misty waters of seemed deadly, disturbed. The white grained of sand that glitter along the expanded, unending land seemed to be gentle, caring, and quite the opposite from the raging ocean. It looked streaked, as if it'd been combed like hair with a fine expensive comb. It appeared to have a smooth texture, one of great kindness that seemed to "care" for those who stepped upon it. With its fine shade of glittering white and streaked appearance, just the sand itself had been a lovely sight to see. And making themselves known behind the pleasing sight of glittering white sand was tree, although they appeared to be men. They were tall, strong against the tepid winds, like soldiers who stood against arrows that promised a piercing death. The sky, much like the rest of the privately owned beach, had been a work of art in itself. As if the sky had been painted, it covered the private beach was a majestic light purple and a burst of creamy orange. The clouds, which looked all too close and seemed to flow in the canvas sky so very peaceful, were the same light purple, if not lighter. The burning white sun hid behind them, offering warm rays that bathed the beach, like a spotlight to a stage. Thankful it hid, allowing itself to be viewed upon without causing blindness.  
Mortalia stopped breathing at the sight of the private beach that looked as if it'd be some exotic painting of a world within a world, owned by the Phantomhive family. Suddenly she was overcome with a great amount of awe and desire to stay here in this captivating place that fascinated her being and left an impressive that engraved itself within her mind.  
What was this place, and why was it so beautiful?  
She could give no answer as she stood above the private beach and just below the lovely brick home that sat on the lovely hill.  
Somehow she was reminded of Alice in Wonderland. Somehow she began to adopt her feeling of wonderment of this delightfully and perfectly odd place she'd never been, but was thankful that she'd gone.  
She turned to Jarr'ah, who'd been standing next to her feeling the same amount of overwhelming awe.  
"I've take it that you've grown quite fond of my home?" Symphony said, his voice gentle as he overlooked his private beach, standing like a king amongst the solider trees that swayed ever so slightly. The air kissed his exposed legs that, unfortunately, had not been covered by the silk white robe he'd been wearing.  
Mortalia, hearing his voice now directly near her, slightly jumped at the feminine tone of his unexpected voice. She turned fully around, gazing upon him. Somehow, with his captivating beauty, he seemed to fit the painting she's been seeing before her quite perfectly. She blinked, her eyes now dazed as she began to feel somewhat heavy, yet prickled, as if the air had been pointing at her.  
"You've arrived." She spoke softly in a low tone, almost a whisper. "Your home is…pretty."  
"Funny, I feel that same away whenever I find myself here, between my home and beach, where you can view the veranda. I agree, it is quite pretty," Symphony smiled to her, his smile seeming somewhat as a boy would be. Kind, and yet protective. Telling, and the again secretive. Sweet, but then somewhat sour all at once.  
Mortalia wondered, was this the true smile of Symphony?  
"Thank you, for inviting us into your home." She said, bowing her head. Her dark purple curls fell forward with the head, falling around her face. She quickly gathering the wayward tangled strands of messy curls, tucking them behind her ears and combing through them to make them stay back.  
Her face heated to a slight red at the absence of her onyx cloak.  
Symphony allowed the sounding a chuckle. "It's my pleasure. Though I must say, you'll all be my first guest. Please, allow me to escort you into my home."  
Jarr'ah nodded, taking Holt's and Mortalia's arm. "We'd love that. Jeepers, this is so exciting!"  
Holt snorted, too cool to admit he was impressed."I guess this place is alright."  
"Please," Symphony nodded his head slightly. "Follow me."  
The group followed behind Symphony, allowing him to lead the way. Alongside the hills that held up the brick home were mountains of stairs, painted a spicy brown with a sassy red railing. They walked along the stair, taking the easy route. Once they approached the home, it seemed to grow bigger. Symphony held open the red door to his red, orange, and brown brick home, showing proper host manners. As they entered the brick home, the entrance appeared. In the entrance of the home was a walkway made of stone, the color of grey. The wallpaper along the walls had been wood, dark chocolate brown with what looked like red flowers growing along the walls. To the right side there was stairs, also made of lovely dark wood, complimented by a fine red carpet that lead to the upper part of the building. Along the stairwell had been a black umbrella, a much older dark brown wooden drawer, a chair of the same martial with newspaper stacks on it, and a silver mirror that flattered the room. On top of the drawer was an old clock that made a rather loud tick and tock noise, an old blue book, and silver vases with black roses. Next to the chair was a tall upside down U shaped doorway that seemed to lead into the actual house. Through the open upside U shaped doorway, you could see a large window and a dark brown wooden coach that had been complimented with pillows of all sized. Leaning against the window and sitting on the couch had been an even larger portrait of a man, his painting framed with dark brown wood. Along the wall where red flowers seemed to grow was a closet.  
"It's all so pretty." Mortalia mumbled to herself, admiring the entrance's furniture accents.  
"Yes, well…" Symphony said, going over to the old worn wooden brown drawer. He picked up a golden bell that had been hidden behind one of vases, giving it a ring. Just then the closet door opened, startling everyone but Symphony. After a long pause, nothing appeared. In the closet was darkness and more stairs, made of stone that seemed to lead to a secret passage. "How much longer do you intend to make my guest wait?"  
"My apologies, young master." A voice sounded, its tone very slithery like a snake, passing and haunting like a ghost, and dark and deep like a demons. Just then, a man appeared from the darkness. In one of his white gloved hands was a silver tray withholding backed goods.  
Jarr'ah eyed the multiple types of cakes, made with the most expensive ingredients money could buy; the finest of creams and juiciest of raspberries, and et cetera, et cetera. With the most sickening of kind smile, he said, "Please, allow me to direct you into our…home."  
"If you boys would follow him, please." Symphony said with a nod, assuring them that they were in safe hands.  
"Only the boys?" Mortalia questioned, her eyes growing frightful from being apart from Jarr'ah. He'd been a moral support whenever she had to be near Symphony. Ever since that day…  
Symphony glanced over to her, his lovely highway eyes peering over his frameless glasses with the golden legs. His smile was careful. "Yes, love. I do believe you should get dressed. This is a private beach, after all. It would only be proper to dress in the appreciate beach attire."  
"But…only the boys?" Mortalia repeated her question, tugging on the ends of her grey hoody's sleeves. Symphony gave a simple nod to Mortalia before signaling the mysterious man dressed in jet black with midnight black hair and blood red eyes to direct the boys to the inside of the home with the flicker of his eyes. The man bowed his head respectively, obediently. "Good choice, young master."  
"Ah, Sebastian," Symphony said, stopping the butler before he disappeared from the entrance. The butler stopped, handing the silver tray of cake to the boys. They ran off as the butler stepped forward.  
"Yes, young master?" he spoke.  
Symphony rolled his eyes, as if annoyed. "Do not mock me, call my by the correct name. And also: the bag, if you will."  
"Of course, _young miss_." The butler said. Mortalia assumed he'd been mocking Symphony, just playing along with his game for the time being to amuse him. "Wise choice."  
The butler leaned over, bragging a tall bag that had been hidden. It was fully black with the marking of a big blue P written in marker. Symphony took it quickly, a slight joyful smile gracing his face. "Good job. Now please see to it that they enjoy themselves for the time being."  
"Yes, my young miss, of course." Sebastian answered formally and stalked off into the home. Symphony turned to Mortalia, offering his hand and a gentle, delighted smile that somewhat put her at ease, while making her heart feel heavier at the same time.  
"You'll come with me…won't you?" Symphony asked, cautious and prepared if she were to turn him away.  
Mortalia paused a moment, considering, thinking. "Should I? …I wonder."  
"I promise I'll dress you up so that you'll be really pretty." Symphony promised, his grin now somewhat playful.  
"Really?" Mortalia asked shyly, lowering her eyes. "As pretty as a painting? As beautiful as a butterfly? …Really?"  
Symphony nodded, his smile warm, trusting. "Really."  
Mortalia lifted her dark purple eyes to his, her gaze boring into his highway blurred mess of colors. "Well…okay…but this doesn't change anything. We're still…"  
"Awkward, for lack of better word?" Symphony face, his eyes becoming intense. Mortalia nodded. "But you'll let me dress you up pretty because…we're still friends, right? Even though everything is awkward, we're still friends, correct?"  
Mortalia nodded, her mess of curls nodding too. Her heart, pounding like a battle drum, began to stirred, beating violently in her ears as her face heated to a fine red.  
Although things were awkward, they were still friends.


	12. Chapter 11

*{Chapter 11}

Mortalia approached the boys, Jarr'ah wearing his beloved orange swimming trunks with the lighter orange bubble design on them and a white t-shirt while Holt sported white swim trunks with red flames and a black outlining tracing around the fire. They stood from their seats on the pale and dark scarlet stripped couch that had been sitting in full view of the entrance.  
"Oh my Na'vi…" Jarr'ah mumbled, astounded and at a loss for words.  
"Never knew your could burn so hot, Tallie." Holt said, putting a hand to his chin. He approved with a casual nod, checking her out.  
The swimsuit she wore had been a one-piece, completely faded off-purple with skinny straps and a heart neckline. Somehow, it seemed to flatter her just-barely-visible-curves and not-quite-there-yet features. The shoes, in which she stood shyly in, careful to keep her balance, were silver. They had cross straps with an addition ankle strap. Somehow, the silver and purple of her lovely swimsuit gave her depth, an existent volume within her height and hidden elegance. In her wild tangle mess of dark purple curls was a black rose, one that matched the black transparent towel wrapped around her newly exposed wide hips as a skirt.  
Jarr'ah blinked, as if not knowing her, as if seeing an entirely new Mortalia. He smiled widely, ecstatically. Before Mortalia knew it, he'd grabbed her hands and they'd been jumping around in circles. "Ohhh, Tallie, look at you! You look like some kind of model or something!"  
"Well I don't really feel like a model, I feel embarrassed…" Mortalia said, her face aglow with now multiple shades of different reds.  
Sudden a hand found her shoulder, causing her to turn her head. Her eyes found the beautiful Symphony, clothed in a dress made of light rayon fabric. The dress he wore was short-sleeved with a low preferable neck hem and a back so long that it draped past his legs, flooding the reflective dark wood floors of which they stood on. Even with holds of the dress pinned together, the train of the dress had been too long and still covered the back of his white long square toed heels with the thin ankle strap. Hiding away his sloppy mess of a lazily tied wavy ponytail was a floppy tan straw hat, and resting beneath his hair, sticking out by his frosted ear was a scarlet rose, the color of fresh blood. Strapped across his chest was a small, compact rectangular purse, made of shiny black leather.  
"What's there to be embarrassed about, love?" Symphony asked. "Beautiful you…you're such a masterpiece in motion. In fact…you're a masterpiece in motion worth capturing."  
Mortalia put her hands up in defense, trying to shield her exposed barely-there cleavage and block her face. But she'd been too late. A photo documenting her model worthy beauty and praised features had been taken. Her nose wrinkled in detest for her loathe of photos. She gave Symphony a cold stare. "I told you before that I _hated _taking pictures, didn't I?"  
"Did you now, love?" Symphony teased. "I don't really recall such a conversation."  
"Not funny!" Mortalia whined, slapping Symphony's arm. "Whatever, nothing I can do now, I guess. Well, expect, _that_."  
"_That_?" Symphony questioned. "What do you mean by _that_? I don't – what? Hey – Mortalia, give me back my camera!"  
Holt chuckled, watching as she ran away. "I believe you've been had there."  
"That and you just got scammed." Jarr'ah said, running along. He waved to Symphony, catching up to Mortalia. "Better run for your life, hun!"  
"No fair!" Symphony called as he jog-walked over to the upside down U shaped doorway. He watched, witnessing as they ran into entrance and out of the front doorway. Symphony turned to Holt, pouting his lower lip. His fingers made a crown, pressed to his slight off-white, creamy rayon cover chest. He pleaded, "You'll assist me, won't you?"  
Holt shrugged. "Sure, why not."  
Symphony flashed Holt a half-grin, offering his thanks. He took Holt's blue hand, holding onto his floppy straw hat as he began to run. Sebastian held open the front door, his smile one of delightful darkness as he watched Symphony and Holt dash off and trample down the steps, stomping furiously in a hurry to catch up.  
His eyes flickered from crimson red to a bright shade of red that had become infected by lingering pink. For that moment, he allowed his demon side t show as he stood in the doorway, watching Holt and Symphony raced down the hills that led to the beautiful beach by the name of Forbidden Island, still trying to catch up to the Mortalia and Jarr'ah team. He licked his lips.  
"Good choice, young miss." He said under his breath. "Please, enjoy your time with these…new friends of yours."

"This place, it'll forever be pretty…won't it?" Mortalia said as she followed Symphony up the chaffed tofu brown and off-white rock cliffs that stood behind his red, brown, and tinted orange brick home. The passage they'd begun walking had been rough and hard to climb, but she didn't complain.  
Symphony glanced at his land, looking out at the home he now stood above and the beach that the home overlooked. He blinked, never having stood above everything like he was now. He admired the architecture of his home, the painting-like beauty of his beach.  
Still, he continued to climb the rough path up the jagged rock cliff. "Supposedly." He replied, his chest heaving. "I can't say such a thing is certain, but perhaps."  
Jarr'ah slowed behind them, coming to a stop. He leaned forward, put his blue hands with lighter blue strips to his knobby blue knees. His curly hair, with great luster due to the sun's rays and the amount of jell about his hair, fell over his face. He exhaled air, gulping it down desperately as if it'd been his last life line. Holt was quick to turn around and run back towards him.  
He placed a hand to his back. "You alright?"  
Jarr'ah, at the sound of Holt's kind voice looked up. As sweat fell from his face, a dry chuckle escaped him. "I'm OK. Just a little tired."  
Symphony, who had stopped to turn around and check on his club members, blinked at his words. A deep frown settled on his face, his eyes now becoming deadly serious with his cold glare.  
"Something wrong?" Mortalia asked softly, looking up at him. Her expression was blank, her eyes curious.  
'What is person thinking?' She asked herself.  
A smile creeped along Symphony's face. It was wide, disturbingly frightening. His eyes were peaceful, kind, and flickering with interest. The right side of his face was aglow from the warm sunlight, but the left was sheltered by the shadow from the trees above. "It's nothing."  
"Are you…sure?" Mortalia asked, somewhat afraid. Suddenly she realized how far the distance was between him and rest of the gang.  
Symphony offered his frosted, pale porcelain skinned hand. Around his delicate wrists were bracelets made of string. "Shall we be off?"  
Mortalia looked at his hand, her eyes narrowing. She forced her head to turn so that she could steal a glance at her friends. "But…"  
"Go on ahead!" Jarr'ah called, staring up at his best friend, his eyes quite weary from the walking they'd done up the cliff hills. He cheered her on with a tired smile. "We can wait on the beach! I'm in need of some of Sebastian's fruit juice anyway."  
"Are you sure?" Mortalia yelled back, her eyes now frantically worried. Somehow, she didn't want to leave Jarr'ah behind. Her intense interest in Symphony began to prickle against her skin, hardening her eyes.  
Which monster would she choose?  
"I'm sure, Holt can keep me company!" Jarr'ah called, now standing straight as Holt held him. He waved, as if having been a newly-wed getting ready to drive away in some limousine.  
"Alright then!" Mortalia called back, waving. She watched as Jarr'ah and Holt began to walk down the rock cliff, hiking downward. "…I'm really leaving now!"  
Jarr'ah lifted his hand, giving one last wave without turning back, as if signaling her to go, as if allowing her permission to leave.  
Mortalia quickly dismissed herself, turning away before she regretted her decision to go. And so she left, running to get to Symphony. She reached out for his hand, grabbing it as if he'd part without her.  
She wanted so badly for him not to leave anywhere without her. She wanted so badly to stay by his side without falling behind.  
Somehow, she felt fear as he jerked her forward, almost causing her to fall. She hiked behind him, careful not to trip over smaller rocks.  
She tried to control her breathing, trying to keep up as she could see that they were in a hurry. Symphony's held her hand tightly, not wanting to loss her even if he hiked ahead of her.  
"You have to tell me if you get tired…idiot." Symphony said, thinking out loud. Although Mortalia couldn't see, his orange hair now hid his face and the hat that sat on his head was now tilted forward.  
"What was that?" Mortalia questioned, striving to keep up. She wanted to be at his side oh so badly, but was struggling to catch up.  
Suddenly, without warning, Symphony jerked her forward again, causing her to trip over one of tiny rocks. Mortalia fell forward, right into his thin, lanky arms. He embraced her tightly, hugging onto her like a small child who'd found his mother after being lost in the mall. He hid in her curls, breathing frantically, worriedly.  
"I'm sorry." He said. "I shouldn't have made you hike for so long."  
Mortalia blushed red at the friction of their chests as they breathed. "It's OK. I'm fine."  
"But you collapsed." Symphony said, insecurity pouring into his every word, just as it did when Mortalia read his thoughts.  
She could tell he was quite the sensitive person, despite his all too proud arrogant demeanor. "Jarr'ah will be fine."  
Symphony then relaxed in Mortalia's arm. Still, he hugged himself to her tightly. "Thank goodness. I was so scared to look over my shoulder and see if you all were okay. And then Jarr'ah…"  
A soft giggle escaped Mortalia as she released her arm to pet the orange blaze of burnt orange accented hair. She noted that the floppy straw hat falling beside their heeled feet. "Don't worry anymore, okay? Holt can take care of him, Sebbie too."  
"Sebbie?" Symphony pulled away to meet her eyes. His cheeks had been stained by cold clear tears that he hadn't bother to wipe away. "You told you my nickname for him?"  
"He said to call him by that nickname," Mortalia blushed a bit as she put a fist lightly against her lips. She lowered her eyes, recalling her previous conversation with the jet black dressed butler. "He said that it was a special name to him, given by someone of great worth. He told me that I was special, and that I should call him by that name too…Is that…not OK maybe? Should I call him by Sebastian instead?"  
Symphony's face had been blank for a moment, his lightly pink shaded lips parted and eyes staring dazed. He then blinked and turned away, beginning to walk again. He slowed his walk, allowing Mortalia to walk beside him. Just as before, he still held her hand.  
Expect now their fingers had been laced together.  
"It should be fine." He answered, pushing away hair from his face. He wiped away tears with the palm of his hand.  
Mortalia smiled lightly, the effect of being someone special beginning to make her feel as if she had actually been special. "Are you sure?"  
"Yes, I'm quite positive. But…it can only you, okay? That's the deal. Only you can call him Sebbie." Symphony said softly, glancing over to her. He felt his strong bravo and arrogant persona slip away.  
"Alright then." Mortalia nodded her head, showing her thanks. After a moment she felt his eyes on her. She glance at him, her face heating to a boiling pink on the verge of turning red. She offered him the floppy straw hat.  
"Keep it. You wear it. A women's skin is her greatest of advantages." Symphony said with a gentle smile.  
As he walked alongside Mortalia, his heart seemed to swell in his chest.


	13. Chapter 12

*{Chapter 12}

"We're here." Mortalia announced once reached the top of the rock cliff. She paused, taking a moment to breathe as she observed. Before her was a path that, unlike the rough path they'd just hiked, had been smooth and free of rocks. Surrounding this path of cement stone that seemed to glitter just gold had been tall bamboo sticks and wild, flowing bushes of hay. Holding back the free flowing hay had been a fence made of bamboo sticks. Mortalia's lips parted as she glanced over at Symphony, who'd been walking toward a nearby small pond that had been near the path of sprinkled gold and overcrowding bamboo. He sat on his ankles, dropping his hat as he put his hands together and lowering them into the pond. He took a sip of the water in the pond and then threw the rest on his face. It dipped down his lovely frosted face, giving it a refreshed glow.  
In Mortalia's eyes he resembled something like a goddess of earth who'd just awakened from an eternal rest.  
"You should have some, I can promise that this pond water is fresh." He smiled at her, offering a smile of kindness.  
She nodded, walking towards him slowly. She wondered in her mind if she looked that beautiful to him. She recalled the tranquil smile at he showed her when she caught him watching her as they hiked up the rocky cliff.  
Putting it out of her mind, she fell to her knees, letting her upper half fall forward into a bow. She closed her eyes tight, holding her breath as her wild curls surfaced and flowed around her.  
"Well, I suppose that's one way to have a drink." Symphony chuckled to himself. He watched for a moment, and then waited a few moments more. When he realized she wasn't going to come up for a while, probably due to exhaust, he stood and watched along the gold sprinkled path of cement, or possibly some type of smooth rock. He rubbed the bamboo sticks, admiring them and their smooth against the skin, yet hard rough texture.  
Mortalia's heart continued to beat, her face still quite red from the memory of Symphony's smile. She shook her head in the pond of water, hoping it'd cool her. After a while, she lifted her head. As water ran down her back she'd been thankful that she was wearing a swimsuit. She gathered her mess of curls, squeezing them and allowing the water to drip beside the pony. Once she was done rubbing the water from her face, she stood. The cool wind washed against her face, allowing her to feel refreshed. The coldness of it made her smile. Quickly, she joined Symphony, taking his hand. Again, their fingers laced.  
"Sorry, I was…um, really thirsty." She said bashful, turning her head away as her face lit to a bright pink. Her once soaked and now still somewhat damped curls fell from her shoulder.  
"It's alright," Symphony said, turning his head to look at her. He offered a half grin. "We're in no hurry."  
Mortalia nodded shyly, hiding behind her curls. "Oh…well, that's…"  
"Shall we continue then?" Symphony asked with another chuckle. He began walking, the innocently shy Mortalia walked at his side. He was thankful for the warm of her small hand.  
As they walked down the path of bamboo, hay, and golden smooth rock, the chirping of birds sounded from the distance. Mortalia lifted her head, letting it fall back. She stared up at the bamboo sticks leaves that seemed to shelter them like the roof of a house. She was thankful for the shade they provided and the protection from the sun's rays. As the air passed, kissing her necked exposed flesh, her arms, legs, chest, neck, and face, she took a deep breath. A still serenity washed through her.  
"Have you ever been to this place?" she asked quietly.  
"My father and I once walked this path, heading towards the place of which I wish you show you. And I once begged Sebbie to take me through this path as a child. Other than those times, I would often escape here." Symphony answered.  
"Escape?" Mortalia repeated, her voice soft.  
"To think," Symphony explained. "Through this path, and through all the other paths…they were my escape route."  
"I see." Mortalia said, her heart beating clear in her ears. She could see why someone would escape here to this place.  
They walked the rest of the way in silence, allowing each other time to think their own private thoughts. After a while they came to the end of the path, where the bamboo seemed to lessen and open into a new path. No longer was the path crowded by bamboo behind piles of hay that led the way. Now it seemed all the hay had cleared and the number of bamboo trees lessened. They arrived at a new path, one of which was an oasis of clear, sparkling water that spread and never seemed to end. About the water were tree with thin branches.  
Mortalia blinked, unsure of her thoughts. "It's…"  
"Pretty?" Symphony smiled teasingly, as if having read _her _mind.  
Mortalia nodded. "How do we get across?"  
"On foot." Symphony said, letting go of her hand for a moment. He stepped towards the water, not bothering to lift his dress. He stepped inside of the never ending water. Once the land beneath his feet became flat, he stopped to turn around to Mortalia. He offered his hand.  
Mortalia blinked, flabbergasted by the now beautiful _water_ goddess that appeared before her. She stepped forward slowly, noting how high the water was. It stopped above his navel, which meant it would stop just below her breasts for her.  
"I've never done these kinds of things." She said, entering the water. It shook around it, ruffling as she began to walk through it.  
"Yes, well…I haven't done things like this for quite some time now." Symphony said, walking towards her. "Tell me, are you having fun? Do you…find you time here to be quite interesting?"  
Mortalia nodded, the land now flat below her feet. As she thought, the water stopped just under her breasts. As she continued to walk towards Symphony, the water splashed against her. They now stood face to face, still in the reflective water. "I'm enjoying myself quite a bit."  
Symphony watched her again as she looked around at the old tree towering over them. "And what are you thinking…right now?"  
"These tree are so tall, yet seem to be only sunk half-deep. They must be so very tall." Mortalia said, observing.  
Symphony nodded. "I believe so. Shall we be on our way?"  
Mortalia glanced down at their joined hands and back up to Symphony. With a final nod, she was prepared to follow his lead. "Let's go."  
Symphony led her through the water, walking slowly in case they stumbled upon something unexpected. He held her hand comfortable, treading through the water. They walked for a long moment or so, just waiting to get the other side of the land that was revealed by the trees that seemed to climb out of the water themselves. Once they were near the edge, he prepared himself to get ready to climb. "Well, then…"  
Mortalia let go of his hand, waited for him to get out of the water. Once he did, he lifted he took both her hands and pulled as she climbed up. Once they began walking again, Mortalia's pace seemed to slow.  
"Hey," she said to Symphony. "About that water…"  
"Yes?" Symphony replied, turning his head to see her.  
"How is it there?" she asked, puzzled by the discovery.  
Symphony thought for a moment and then turned his head back to her. "Sebastian says it's all from the rain, or something or other."  
"But…I mean…" Mortalia mumbled, not sure how to piece together her thoughts.  
"I'm not sure how it all works either, quite frantically. Father says that it's a secret." Symphony smiled to her, revealing that he was confused by the whole ordeal himself.  
"I see…" Mortalia blinked, looking around. As they continued to walk deeper through the odd forest, it seemed a new path greeted them. Trees, that curved began to resemble the open entrance of Symphony's home. Much like the opening that led to the inside of their home, the trees curled, shaping themselves like an upside U. Only now tree from both sides created the upside U together. The path now became one of dirt and grass, twigs and branches with strange leaves shaped like four leaf clovers.  
The path before them curved around just a bit.  
"Wow…" Mortalia heard herself say as she stepped against four leaf clovers, observing the trees.  
"This is Father's favorite path." Symphony stated. "Although, I'm not sure why. Would you know the answer, maybe?"  
Mortalia turned her head to him, shrugging her shoulder. "I…don't know."  
"I didn't think you did because I didn't either." Symphony said, admiring the nature of the path. It was lively with bursting beautiful green.  
"Then why did you ask?" Mortalia giggled.  
"No reason really." Symphony shrugged. "Just trying to start a conversation, I suppose."  
"You're strange." Mortalia said, letting go of his hand and running ahead. She was excited to see the next path, wondering what she would see next.  
"Hold on!" Symphony called after her, stopping. He watched for a moment as she ran off, her feet moving clumsy because they couldn't run at the speed she wanted them to. He blinked, realizing the overpowering curiosity she felt. It was the same feeling he remembered from his preteen years whenever he snuck off and wandered around through the different paths, trying to find something, although he could never figure out what was missing to begin with. It was that feeling of being pushed into a different dimension, being forced into a new world that existed in secret, far away from everything. Just as he was so many years ago, she was blinded by the consciences that came ago with lurking through the forest paths and drowning in her curiosity.  
Much like Symphony, she wondered: What would she find there?  
She didn't want to miss it, whatever it was. She wanted to find it; to see what she didn't know was missing.  
Symphony smiled to himself, that feeling returning. He leaned his head back, taking a deep breath. The passing now chilled wind promised a hunt worth great wins. He picked up the train surrounding him, stepped out of his white long squared toes shoes with the ankle strap.  
"Wait for me," he called out to Mortalia as he began to run, racing against the wind. His hat fell to the ground, but he didn't stop to catch it. As he picked up speed, the wind seemed to battle him, causing the orange of his hair to sway behind him. "Let's find it together!"  
Mortalia turned her head at his words, realizing just how far the distance was between them. She looked forward, only to find that the trees were now straightening until they stood stiff completely. She started to walk, wandering a few steps ahead. Then, coming to her senses, she stopped, realizing that she didn't know the way. She turned her head, waiting for Symphony to catch up. Once he did, she paused, allowing him to breathe.  
"Sorry." She said softly, looking in every direction excitedly. "I didn't know I ran so far."  
"It's fine. Now come on." Symphony said, taking her hand in his. He ran, pulling her forward. She was quick to run at his side. Soon they ran almost in sync down the new path.  
"Are we there yet?" Mortalia asked, her breath heavy as they came closer to the tall red Japanese tori gate.  
"Almost," Symphony said, running ahead. Although he struggled to hold Mortalia's hair, his shoes, and too long dress, he kept a steady pace. Mortalia ran behind him, allowing him to do the work as she somewhat slowed. They pasted the tori gate, hand in hand and still running. As they began to slow, the tall stiff trees began to disappear. As they continued to walk to the trail set out for them, more and more round rocks dug into the dirt began to appear and now there were smaller, uneven hills of grass. In the uneven small hills of grass were bigger rocks, shaped in all kinds of pieces. Four leaf clovers laid about the land.  
"Are your feet alright?" Mortalia asked, glancing down at Symphony's feet. He looked down too, remembering that he was walking barefoot.  
He had forgotten since he didn't feel the pain.  
He nodded, smiling down at somewhat worried Mortalia who was wearing a smile of brightness. "Yep, they're alright. How about you, are you not cold? Are you alright?"  
Mortalia nodded her head perkily, slipping her hand from Symphony's. She took his arm, rested her head against his upper arm. "I'm alright."  
"Are you sure? I can give you my dress if you want." Symphony stated, looking ahead. He smiled as they walked down this new path, as if having been a traveling married couple.  
"Wouldn't you be cold then?" Mortalia asked, blinking up to him.  
"I'll survive; I'm wearing a bathing suit underneath." Symphony said, beginning to unbutton the three buttons on his rayon dress.  
"Wait, wait, wait!" Mortalia stopped walking, pushing away from him so that she could cover her pieces. "Don't undress yet."  
Symphony chuckled, watching as she slowly walked over grass hills and a few rocks. "How about now?"  
"Okay!" she called out, as if having been far away although she wasn't. "You can strip now."  
"Alright!" Symphony called back, slipping off the dress. He stepped out of it, revealing a faded brown mink swimsuit dress that had the length of a mid-thigh long shirt. The neck line, like Mortalia's swimsuit, had a heart hem and skinny straps, even skinnier than Mortalia's. He teased his hair, shaking it and combing through it. He quickly put back on his shoes and picked the dress off from the dirt path, giving it a good shake. "Alright, you can look now."  
"Really? Mortalia asked, turning around. She peeked through her finger to make sure.  
Symphony turned his back to her, feeling shy and exposed, mostly insecure. His face heated to a bright red. "Um, yeah…really."  
Mortalia removed her hands, smiling somewhat as she walked towards him. She could tell by his pose that he'd been feeling insecure. She wondered why, when his framework had been much better built than hers. With curves compared to her, he'd been something like some vintage pin-up model, however without the bust. He also possessed bony, broad shoulder. And maybe he was a bit too tall, but still he was quite attractive even wearing something so simple.  
Mortalia looked down at her curveless body, silently thanking Symphony for the beauty he helped her feel when Jarr'ah and Holt saw her, although she had been feeling shy. At least she felt beautiful.  
Somehow, seeing Symphony like this made her feel as if she wasn't worth the competition. And then she started to feel bad for even comparing him to her.  
She pushed the dress towards him, lowering her eyes. "You wear it."  
Symphony glanced over at her as she began to walk off again, her aura troubled. He blinked. "You sure? You might freeze – its getting cold!"  
She began to jog somewhat, ignoring his warning.  
Symphony sighed, wiggling back into the dress. He hurried to catch up, hoping she wouldn't pick up her pace. When he got closer to her, he took her hand, causing her to stop.  
"We have to see it together." He said with a smile that made her heart flutter and stir, beating soundly.  
She nodded, her face lighting red. She was thankful for the warmth and comfort he displayed around her. She put her trouble out of her mind, jogging with him. Soon trees stood in the distance. As they began passing by them, they realized rocks disappear and the grass shorten, until then leaves now got in their way. They continued, pushing through them. Suddenly they stumbled upon an ocean of blue flowers.  
Mortalia, amazed at the breathtaking sight, glanced to her right and to her left. Blue flowers washed along the land everywhere. She didn't dare blink, afraid that they would all disappear before her eyes, as if all of this was a dream. "It's so beautiful…"  
Symphony, shocked by belief by his findings stepped ahead of Mortalia, into the flowers. Along with the chilled winds they danced, hugging onto the frosted porcelain flesh of his ankles. His heart pounded, thrilled.  
He turned to Mortalia, his smile somewhat crazed, yet amusingly satisfied. He fell back, falling against the flower. They exploded around him, lifting and then falling to him. His hair scattered in the blue of the flowers as he turned his head. He rubbed the back of his hands along the flowers, pleased. His eyes narrowed as he touched the silky texture of the blue flowers. "I finally found it."  
Mortalia walked over to him, took a seat. She took one of flower, began to twist and turn it. "We should document this."  
Suddenly Symphony sat up. "You're right!"  
"But first," Mortalia said, putting her hand to his before he had the chance to take out his camera. She lifted his hand, placed a blue flower on his ring finger. "There…you know something…blue really suits you."  
Symphony blinked at the blue flower, tucking orange hair behind his ear. She had been right. The blue flattered his skin tone.  
He glanced up at her as she began creating a second ring for herself. He waited until she was finished.  
"Alright," she said, admiring her creation. Her eyes blinked up to him. A smile found her face. "Let's take that picture."  
Symphony, without taking his eyes from Mortalia, removed his digital camera from his black purse. He leaned forward, his heart racing.  
Mortalia didn't dare move, her own heart beating speedily. Her face got redder the closer he got to her. She looked at the almost unseen Adam's apple on his throat. It quivered, causing butterflies to invade her stomach.  
Her eyes closed slowly just as the camera lifted. She took a deep breath, refusing to move as his lips found hers.  
As the sound of a snap sounded in her ears, her eyes begin to open. Symphony pulled away for a moment, pausing. His face was a passionate shade of red, just as Mortalia's. Without a second thought, he leaned forward again, dropping the camera. Once again, he brought his lips to hers. Before Mortalia fully closed her eyes, she glanced down at the camera. Appearing on the screen was a perfect picture.

_Hey readers :D  
Just thought I'd quickly apologize (just in case). ^_^  
You see, my lovely readers, I for one am in love with the idea of love. So, for the next few chapters or so, please put up with my mushy lovey-dovey-ness. :P  
Sorry if you aren't one of romantic love stories! :C  
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter~_

_Toodles Noodles ;D  
( Don't ask, I just like to say that XD )_


	14. Chapter 13

*{Chapter 13}

Mortalia walked into Monster High wearing a long black skirt with black  
Ugg boots. The sweater she wore had a low neck hem that revealed her collarbone and chest. It had been grey with pink stripes. Around her was her onyx cloak, which allowed her to hide away in her hood. Her bouncing curls settled comfortable enough that they didn't tickle her face. She walked slowly, searching around. Finally she spotted Jarr'ah, accompanied by Holt. She ran towards them.  
"Good morning." She smiled shyly, her eyes peering around.  
"Yo," Holt greeted with a cool smile and short lived fist-pump. "Lookin' nice, Tallie. What's the occasion?"  
"W-Well…" Mortalia looked away, her face red. "I'm sure you'll see soon enough."  
"Soon enough?" Jarr'ah questioned, turning away from his locker, his black eyebrow lifted.  
Mortalia's eyes looked about the crowded hallway, searching. "Have either of you seen…you know who?"  
"You know who, meaning who exactly?" Jarr'ah asked, confused.  
Holt grinned mockingly. "You mean yourrrr…_boyfriend_?"  
"Shhh!" Mortalia said, putting a finger to Holt's mouth. She glanced around frantically. "I'm still, um…not use to…"  
Jarr'ah giggled, watching as his best friend shrank back into her cloak. "Nope, sorry hun. I don't think he's here yet even."  
"Oh, I see…" Mortalia bit her lip. What was taking him so long?  
"I'm gonna take a guess and say matching sweaters." Holt said, shooting his hand-gun at Mortalia.  
She took a step back, as if receiving the blow. "H-How did you know?"  
"Lucky guess." Holt shrugged casually.  
"Oh lookie, there he is!" Jarr'ah said, pointing. Holt glanced in the direction he had been pointing while Mortalia turned fully to see.  
Just as Jarr'ah said, there he had been, sporting the same grey and pink stripped sweater with the low neck hem and long sleeves. Around his waist, stopping mid-thigh was a leather black skirt with splits on both sides. Dangling in front of the skirt was a metal chain. Looking at his skirt, Mortalia noted his frosted porcelain stomach. She touched her own, thankful that her skirt stopped on her torso, covering her stomach. For a moment she had forgotten that both their sweaters were cut in half. Because of the short length of the sweater, Symphony's stomach was revealed, his inny belly button showing for all to see. He walked confidently, wearing purposely ripper black stockings that clung to his legs and his knee high grey canvas converse with buckle straps on back going up the calf (passing the ankle), laced up with black shoestrings. Today his hair had been braided into two long braids, tied together by black ribbons and bouncing against his shoulders. The stray orange hair that refused to be braided because they had been too short were tucked behind his ears.  
Once his eyes found Mortalia, he jogged towards her. He was quick to hug her; grateful she'd actually worn the couple sweaters he bought. He pulled away, flashing a smile of joy. "The sweater looks good on you."  
"Thanks." Mortalia blushed, lowering her eyes shyly. Her small was small. "I was worried that you would forget and not wear it."  
"There's no way I'd forget!" Symphony said, hugging onto her again. His arms wrapped around her neck tightly as his cheek touched hers. "This is the first thing we did as a couple."  
"C-Couple…" Mortalia repeated to herself quietly. Her face heated as her arms hugged around Symphony's back. She giggled. "Well I'm happy I talked myself into wearing the sweater."  
"Yeah, me too." Symphony pulled away, taking her hand.  
Mortalia looked around, noticing the looks they were getting as monsters passed by. She lowered her head, letting go of Symphony's hand to quickly pull the onyx hood back on her mess of stray wild curls. Once she took Symphony's hand again, they began to walk, following behind Holt and Jarr'ah, who had also been holding hands, their couple's black and white string bracelet proudly defining their relationship. Mortalia glanced down at her hand-made pink and grey sweater, feeling its warmth against her grey skin. She blushed, her face heating.  
She was thankful that no one knew just how much she liked her new Couple's Sweater.

"You're not eating?" Mortalia asked, taking a sip of her organic Yak milk nervously. Symphony, sitting across from her at their usual lunch table, blinked. He put his fist to his cheek, leaning against it.  
"It would seem that I lack an appetite; in fact, I have no need to consume food as I am part demon. I do not need to feed, as I am not the type to feast anyhow. Once every few years however I do get hungry – but not for food exactly."  
"Oh," Mortalia gave a nod, eating a spoon full of her Seagull soup. "But, that day? I remember that I paid for your lunch."  
Symphony yawned, still tired from not getting enough sleep. "I tend to eat whenever I'm bored."  
_Or more like whenever I want to fit in…  
_Mortalia blinked for a moment. Then she realized she had accidently read his thoughts again, causing her face to turn summer pink. She continued eating, trying to pretend as if it never happened.  
"Well, that's understandable." She gave a nod, going back to her soup once more. Then, something flickered. She lifted her eyes, spotting the golden locket around Symphony's neck.  
How long had that been there? It wasn't there this morning…

_Yes, yes, I know, I know! I'm horrible, this is so short!  
Sorry guys (^_^"")! This is due to my laziness, again. Forgives me and I'll buy you all a blood brownie-3_

_Promise the next chapter will be longer! Hope you guys enjoyed this short chapter!~_


	15. Chapter 14

*{Chapter 14}

Mortalia stared at her boyfriend as he walked over to the third bookshelf in the Scarebrary. She observed her, taking notes of his every little gesture. He moves gracefully, searching curiously. What had he been searching for? What was it he wanted?  
She stood from her seat, moving away from the table they'd been studying at as Symphony began to move. She followed quietly, silently. She continued to watch him questioning. The deeper he went into the darkly lit library with tall, large windows but closed curtains, she followed, eager to find out what it was he was looked so hard for. She stalked behind him, watching him with great awe.  
After a while or so, once they reached the fiftieth bookshelf, Symphony stopped walking and searching through the aisle of bookshelves. He turned around, meeting her eyes.  
"Are you documenting me, perhaps?" he asked, a cool grin stretching his face. Mortalia stood, staring at him as if he hadn't actually been there, as if she'd been some kind of hallucination.  
In her mind she had wonder: did he truly exist?  
She looked at his freckled feminine face with his lengthy curled eyelashes that surrounded his narrowed highway eyes (along with the frameless glasses with the golden legs that hid them) and perfectly arched brown eyebrows. She looked at his pointed round nose, his frosted pink full lips. She gazed upon the silver ring pierced on the right side of his nose and the silver stud piercing attached below the left side under his lips. Just glimpsing at his face seemed to make her heart flutter about.  
She continued to look at him, now moving her eyes to his attire. He'd dressed simple, clothed in a black shorts-suit that was stopped mid-thigh with a black cross belt that hugged his hips and fell into, which had been made from the same material as the dress and was attached. He'd left several of the black buttons undone, revealing a glimpse of his small frosted porcelain chest and deepen collarbone. Around his long neck with the almost unseen Adam's apple was a dog collar, black with a silver ring missing a leash. Along with that he wore clingy tights that left no room for wrinkles. They had been a somewhat transparent white with divine, poisoned berry raspberry shade. The boots he wore were platform, tall on his skinny ankles and the color of a dark shade of pink or a dull pale shade of raspberry. On the arms were black arm-warmers, strapped to his arm by the brown buckle strap that buckled around them.  
Somehow, Mortalia felt plain silly dressed in her sleeveless black dress with the oversized black off-the-shoulder 80's sweater, black scarf, black leg-warmers, and pale brown boots. She felt exposed, abandoning her onyx cloak. Compared to Symphony's hairstyle with the unbelievably large outdated suicide hair roll that didn't dare touch his revealed forehead with the big chunky, yet neatly braided long braid, Mortalia felt childish with her sloppy, lazily put together ponytail hairdo of messy curls.  
Although she dared not admit it, she was feeling insecure about her look, unconfident in her fashion sense.  
And although she wouldn't acknowledge it, she knew it had been to do just the very image of Symphony. His visual had been one much greater than hers. How could he appear so much like a ghoul, but have the body of a manster and _still _look better than her?  
Why was he so…pretty?  
She stepped closer to him, jogged towards him. She fell into his arms without permission, allowing herself to show a weaker side of herself if only for a moment. "I'm pretty, aren't I? I'm cute enough, right?"  
Symphony pet her head gently, as if she'd been the most delicate of creatures. He wrapped an arm around her crazy ponytail of dark purple curls, trying to provide comfort. "Of course you are, love."  
"Do you mean it?" Mortalia asked, lifting her head from his chest to look up at him. Symphony gave her a confident nod of certainty.  
"Tallie, you beautiful."  
"I don't feel beautiful…" she admitted, hiding her face to his chest. She rested his cheek to against him, listened to him as he breathed. His heart beat rapidly in her ears, flowing and pumping in rhythm with her own. Along with her, the beat of their hearts were swift, hurried and racing.  
It made for a beautiful tone.  
"What do you mean?" Symphony asked, cuddling her dearly. He rested his chin to her head, inhaled her sweet lavender sweet. He wondered what gave her such a lovely scent.  
"In front of you…back you…standing next to you or being anywhere near you. Just being close to you…I don't feel beautiful. You're much prettier than me," Mortalia sniffed, trying not to sob as she squinted her eyes to holding back the tears. They surfaced at the rim of her eyes, threatening to fall. "It's hard to compete with you…"  
"But Tallie," he said. Mortalia listened to the echo moving through him as he talked. "This isn't a competition, love."  
"I know, but still…always…I feel I have to compete with you because…I'm suppose to be the girl in our relationship, but you so much prettier. It so hard…because you're so beautiful." Mortalia sniffed again.  
Symphony's eyes narrowed, becoming dazed with understanding. His expression was blank with sympathy. "I see…well, I'm sorry, my love."  
"I didn't want to tell you, because I thought you may think be of me for even thinking these thoughts and comparing us, but…" Mortalia shook her head, not wanting to finish that sentence.  
"I know…" Symphony said. "Don't worry."  
Mortalia lifted up her head, pulling away. She took a step back, reaching her hands towards him. He stood still, allowing her to toy with his golden locket. She opened it, tears falling at the sight of the picture inside. Of course, it had been the manster Mortalia saw made Symphony uncomfortable, as she had expected. It had been the manster that claimed Symphony was in love with…and the same manster that Symphony didn't regret or deny.  
She let go of the locket, taking several steps back. She sat on her ankles, shielding her face as she cried. Symphony took note of the small hands that covered her face, the same small hands he'd felt that now shook somewhat.  
"Tallie…" he said, going over to her. The sound of her sudden chocking sob stopped him, catching him off guard. He froze, his expression one of sorrow that pleaded for forgiveness.  
She'd been holding back her tears, trying not to be a bother or make much noise. Truly, she tried so hard not to be quiet.  
"Do you…" she began, her voice muffled by the hands that still covered her face. "Do you…try to be beautiful…for him?"  
Symphony, without realizing he'd done so, took a few steps back. He swallowed the lump in his throat. And then, "I…have no choice. My heart loves him, so of course I'd want him…I'd want to look beautiful so that he could look at me…again."  
A forced, saddened and jittery chuckle sounded, coming from Mortalia. It had been damped from her now endless, uncontrollable tears. "I thought so. I always…_always _wondered why you dressed like you did, showing so much of yourself, but leaving out so little."  
"Leaving out so little?" Symphony repeated, as if having heard the expression before.  
"Of yourself…" Mortalia said, her voice breaking. "…You're a manster, aren't you? So…why can't you just dress like one? Why do you always have to dress like a ghoul? You're a manster!"  
"I didn't know…you felt this way." Symphony said, turning his head away. He sniffed, curling in his lips. He blinked multiply, trying his hardest not to cry himself. He remembered, that person had said the same thing once, the very person who raised him from his birth.  
"How could I not when we walk together and people only see you and me, but not us. They see us separately; see how I don't compare and how I don't deserve to be by your side. Then they judge us, judge how you're so beautiful even though you're a manster in ghoul's clothing. I feel like I'm being casted off! I'm so…ugly…I have no right to stand by your side because I'm a bother. A ghoul with nothing to show for her style. That's why…that's why it's all so hard, competing with you and turning to gain their approval while also trying to prove myself. It's so hard to do…when you're always dressed this way, always so beautiful." Mortalia said through her sobs.  
"I'm…sorry." Symphony said, turning away from her. He sat on ankles for a moment, grabbing his head. It pulsed violently, a surge of pain entering his mind. He shook his he9998ad, trying to rid himself from the pain. It consumed him, reminded him of just how cursed he was.  
Beauty was not his friend. It was a burden.


	16. Chapter 15

*{Chapter 15}

Symphony approached Mortalia as she stood in the hallways of Monster High. The halls were empty, the sky still somewhat dark and the atmosphere outside foggy. It had been early morning.  
He played with the black windmill he'd brought from home, blowing it and watching as it spun.  
"I-I'm sorry, Symphony." Mortalia called from down the hall when he walked through the two tall double red doors of the school. "You know that, right?"  
He continued to walk, his posture slouched as he took his time walking. He continued to blow the windmill, apparently not paying her any attention.  
Mortalia frowned the closer he got. Dressed in tower tall black platform leather boots with one huge buckle going across the upper foot and two other smaller buckles strapped across the lower foot including two smaller buckles on the upper ankle of the boot and a connected chain swinging across the back, connected by two loops, loose-fitting (but not baggy) goth army pants with a chain connecting the pocket of his lower thigh and the third belt buckle, a spiked belt, black sleeveless shirt, and black dog collar, Symphony oozed his rather rare manlier side. Accessorized with a spiked black wrist bracelet one his right arm and a fishnet arm-warmer on the other, with the addition of the spiked bracelet on his upper arm and multiple black rings on both his, he made sure not to abandon his love of matching and accessorizing. As for his hair: he wore it in a ponytail with a blue ribbon holding it together. The blue ribbon was tied low, making his hair resemble that of Neji's from Naruto (*forgive my uncreative-ness with hair!). Finally, he was close enough to at least be at arm's length apart from her. He sighed for a moment, staring at the shiny black windmill. And then, with a dull tone and tedious half-grin, he said:  
"I know you're sorry. Don't worry about it, I understand."  
"But you even…" Mortalia looked up at him, her eyes squinting apologetically. "You didn't have to…"  
"It's fine," he said before clearing his throat. He continued to speak, his voice now longer as feminine and soft as it had been. Yet still it wasn't deep enough. "I've been…imagining…experimenting with my look. Now I get to…experience…the more manly side of myself. It's fine, you're forgiven."  
"But Symphony…" Mortalia lowered her still squinted eyes. A frown gave away the sadness on her face. "I'd feel bad…if that unhappy look remained on your face. So please…just go and-"  
"Seven forty-two." Symphony said, interrupting.  
Mortalia looked up to find him checking the black wrist watch on his fishnet gloved hand with the missing finger pieces. He'd cut them, if only for fun and his love of the goth inspired look. After checking his wrist watch, which had been turned on the inside of his wrist (making it so he could see time palm-side up), he shoved his hands back in his pockets. His expression was blank. Mortalia blinked. "Seven forty-two?"  
"Seven forty-two," he repeated, blinking his eyes away uncomfortable. Awkwardness lingered about them. "It's the time…"  
Mortalia sighed loudly, seeing that he no longer wanted to talk about this subject. She let the topic go for now. "Well…they're serving breakfast this early, right? How about we go and eat."  
"I don't _eat_." Symphony reminded her, pulling his out his black iCoffin from his back pocket. He plugged in the headphones he'd been keeping in his front pocket, putting them in his ears. He cleared her throat once more, clicking one of the buttons. Music, muffled by the earphones, exploded. Mortalia sighed, feeling bad for ever having said anything.  
"What are you listening to?" she tried to keep hope, leaning over to glance at the screen. On the purple screen in bold white text lettering the words 'Scraping Fangs' appeared. She blinked up at him. "Who are they?"  
After a moment or so the music became quieter. "They're a heavy metal band with six vampire members."  
"Oh?" Mortalia said, trying to sound interested. Heavy metal wasn't her thing, _music _wasn't even her thing. She never listened to the radio.  
She only did whenever she and Jarr'ah had creepovers…  
She sighed, disappointed in herself. She wondered if Jarr'ah knew who the Scraping Fangs were because she sure didn't.  
She continued walking, quiet alongside Symphony, who'd decided to turn his music back up. Once they entered the creepateria, her eyes found a blushing Jarr'ah, readying himself to kiss a dazed looking Holt, who'd been sitting still, waiting for his kiss.  
Mortalia's face instantly heated red. "Jarr'ah?"  
With the call of his name, Jarr'ah's head turned to her. When he realized who'd called him, he turned his head back to Holt, lowering it embarrassedly. His eyes were wide with shock, his blue face turning red.  
"Maybe we should give them some space." Symphony said, taking Mortalia forehead and readying to walk out of the open double doors.  
Mortalia glanced at Symphony. "But-"  
"It's fine!" Jarr'ah called, although he hadn't lifted his head or eyes. "Um, you guys can stay, don't worry about it."  
Holt, lifting his hand to wave, offered a cool smile, not letting his embarrassment show, if he had any. "Yo,"  
Symphony sighed, defeated. He shook his head. Somehow, he knew a day like this would come. He didn't expect it to come so soon…  
He returned his hands to his pockets, beginning to walk towards the couple. Mortalia followed shyly, her face still as red as Jarr'ah's. "Morning, Holt. How's it goin'?"  
"So far so good." Holt shrugged, getting up from his seat. He fist-pounded with Symphony. "Be back in a sec."  
Symphony nodded, watching as he stalked towards the trays. The lunch ladies were absent from the scene, there was no food in sight. Symphony wondered why he was going over there, but turned his head away and considered the fact that the guy just got caught red-handed. He probably needed space to cool down.  
Symphony turned his attention to the still red-faced Jarr'ah. He nodded his chin. "Hey."  
"Morning." Jarr'ah replied, still not lifting his head. He did, however, offer something of a glance. "…Um, sorry about that…I mean, you know, just now. I know what you're probably thinking, but we weren't-"  
"No point in explaining to me," Symphony shrugged coolly, frowning as if he could care less. "I don't really care about that stuff. Anyway: what do you thnik?"  
"What do I think?" Jarr'ah lifted his head, his black eyebrow lifted.  
Symphony sighed, rolling his eyes. He took a step back, doing a turn. The ear and nose chain piercing dangled about. "It's my new look. What do you think? How do I look?"  
Jarr'ah blinked, gasping as he put his hands over his mouth. He hadn't even noticed Symphony's manlier look. It made him look hidden somehow, unnoticeable without as rebellious alternative unisex-friendly style. "Whoa! _Major _difference! When did this happen?"  
Symphony shrugged casually. "This morning. Gonna be trying a manlier style from now on. Pretty cool, don't you think?"  
Jarr'ah grin was apologetic. "Do you want the truth?"  
Symphony blinked, not really needing to hear it. It felt the same exact way. Still he said, "Sure…why not."  
"I feel like I should put an old picture I took of you with my iCoffin on a milk carton." Jarr'ah said, looking away. Symphony forced a chuckle.  
He nodded his hand, his hands balling into fists in his pockets. "Now that's a good one."

Mortalia opened her light purple locker, the feeling of tiredness overwhelming her. She sighed, looking down at the vibrate blue note that fell to the floor. She bent down to pick it up, a deep frown on her face. As she unfolded it and read it to herself, her frown began to twitch. Before she could stop them, tears poured from her eyes.

The feeling of utter sorrow and anguish stabbed at her. Regret poked holes in her head, making it so that she couldn't even think. She sat on her ankles, crying historically. Deep in her heart she hoped that no one would catch her there, allowing her emotions to leak from her being.  
Her shaking hands held up the letter once more.

The note, written in black cursive, read:

_Dear my darling Mortalia,_

_Unfortunately because I am human this means unlike other demons of my kind, I am not devoid of the emotion called Love. It is a pity for me to have to write this, however I doubt I could say this to your face.  
My love, I have fallen long ago with a monster that was born to manipulate lust and confuse it with love, a beast that is skilled in creating pleasure and infuse it with pain. Mortalia, my loveliest of ghoulfriends, I must admit that sadly I have fallen for incubus of whose name I am too ashamed to mention.  
Unfortunately, my heart still cannot tell the difference having/feeling love and having beneficial casualties from a past memory. Here, on this paper I ask for your forgiveness. I did not mean for you to feel this way do to my selfish emotions.  
Truly, I did not wish for you to be hurt.  
My love: I care for you, so please allow me to shoulder at least part of the pain you keep buried. Please, tell me everything that you are feeling and vent to me your trouble. I will forever lend a listening ear.  
Xo, your truly,  
Symphony._

As she removed her eyes from the page, only to close them completely, she began to feel like a ghoulfriend unworthy of the care she was given.  
How could she tell her boyfriend who had been in love with another manster her feelings properly? How could she tell him that it was now _her _who was falling for _him_ and that somehow, she was growing to loathe the manster who'd stole his heart without her permission?  
How could she tell him how wrong she felt for hating another monster of whom she didn't even know?  
She cried, tears falling from her closed tight eyes. She held back her chocking sob, not wanting to make noise, not wanting to cry to begin with.  
But her emotions wouldn't allow her to hide them anyway anymore.  
She cursed herself. Cursed that dammed manster, and even Symphony too. She bit her tongue, begging herself not to make a sound in the empty hallway. Just then, a hand found her shoulder.  
It fell down her upper arm, snaked across her and held her tight.  
"You'll tell me, won't you?" Symphony's engaging voice penetrated her ears. She then opened her mouth, allowing herself to cry freely into of him.  
Mortalia let out a wailing sob that had been unexpectedly quite loud. She sobbed, whining and hiccupping. She shook her head, afraid to let her feelings known for fear of what Symphony might think of her. She tightly grabbed the arm hugging her to Symphony's chest, close to his heart.  
She didn't speak again.

_Author's Note: _

_Does this seem familiar to anyone else?  
Crap, I thought so…  
My bad, guys. I don't know how this happened, but it seems I'm repeating the whole love triangle thing as I did in Mia's story.  
Forgive me! I've somehow fallen into this love-triangle concept without having knowledge of how such a tragic thing could happen!  
I think it may have been my sympathy toward the "Heartbreak Character" (the ones who never get the girl/guy and are left heartbroken). Its either that or I've been watching too many Asian Dramas – all love themed and usually with a love triangle concept… (e_e"")  
My lovely readers, I ask for your forgiveness!~_


	17. Chapter 16

*{Chapter 16}

"So, what do you want to know first?" Symphony asked, making his necked legs comfortable on the ocean of blue flowers. As he crossed his legs behind him, his black silk robe obediently hid him. His black, open toe and short heeled shoes made a clanking sound.  
Mortalia turned to him, holding the opening of her purple silk robe, careful not expose a thing. As a breeze pasted by, her face turned bright red.  
She was definitely not use to wearing silk robes and matching heels.  
"W-Well," she paused, looking away for a moment. The vibrate blue of the flower caught her eye. They were the same color as the note Symphony had left in her locker. She recalled the flower ring she had made him long ago. "About that manster you're…well anyway…does he…maybe, possible love you back? Does he still have feelings for you?"  
Symphony, not sure how to answer the question with a dazed look of sadness on his face, looked up, thankful Sebastian's distraction.  
"Young miss, if I may interrupt." the butler in jet black said, sitting a tray of two mugs of Wolf's Bane tea and a plate of Normie desert down on the grass. "This afternoon's desert is vanilla made with strawberries. Please enjoy it, as it is made from starch with homemade vanilla and strawberries."  
"Yes, of course." Symphony nodded. "Thank you, Sebbie-chan – uh, I mean _Sebastian_."  
The butler smiled kindly. "My pleasure, young miss."  
Mortalia watched as Symphony's eyes focused on the leaving butler, who seemed to be exiting the scene as he disappeared behind the trees that led into the ocean of blue flower. She blinked, watching the uneasy settle on his face. He forced a jittery laugh.  
"Well then, to answer your question…" Symphony said, bracing himself to face the reality of his situation. He picked up his plate of cake, stabbed at it with the fork. "He never had feelings for me to begin with. We were just…I was just…something for him to toy with. And now, I'm just…used goods."  
Mortalia's eyes squinted with pity as she watched he shove a rather large piece of cake in his mouth. She looked away, sparing him the pity that she knew he wouldn't want. "I see…"  
"We never even dated properly. We just meant and…he made me feel special. Of course we didn't…not at first anyway. I played hard to get for a while, but he didn't show much interest. So I just…gave in, and he just became my first love. He couldn't possibly feel for me as much as I do him because…he doesn't have a heart. He's…heartless, incapable of love." Symphony said, his eyes tearing. He quickly wipes them.  
He had said these things to himself constantly, but to hear them aloud…  
"And me…" Mortalia said, tearing herself. When Symphony looked over at her, she didn't meet him eyes. She brought her knees to her chest, crossing her ankles. She was thankful for the shorts she had been wearing. "What about me? Do you…have feelings for me too, maybe?"  
Symphony sat the cake down, leaning closer to Mortalia. He placed a kiss to her cheek, moving her wild restless curls away from her face. "How could I not? I don't make an effort to change for just anyone, you know."  
Mortalia let her face drop to her knee. The moisture from her tears wet her cheeks. She cursed herself for feeling venerable.  
"Thank you," she said quietly. "…I was so afraid that you'd say…that you didn't truly have feelings for me. And I just…I didn't want that to be true."  
"Mortalia…how do you feel about me?" Symphony asked, going back to his eat. He ate it, although he could not taste it. His hatred for seeing Mortalia cry dulled his sense of taste.  
"About you?" Mortalia said, lifting her head. She looked at him. That day of Symphony and that manster played in her head when she met his eyes. It wasn't because of his face, but because he had been wearing that locket, the golden locket that he kept close to his heart. Her eyes watered. She let herself blink, releasing the tears. "I don't know. I can't tell…you're just…you're just so special to me. You make me have all kinds of special feelings…but my heart hurts when I'm near you. I don't know what any of it means, but…I'm always thinking of you, always. Will you like this? What would you think of that? I always have these thoughts."  
In that moment, Symphony was frozen in his place, his fork holding up a piece of cake that was midway to his mouth. He couldn't blink as he grew uneasy. His heart ached, reminding him of those same feelings he felt for Twig, as well as for Mortalia. He took a deep breath.  
"Mortalia…" he said softly.  
"Yes?" she asked, wiping the uncontrollable tears from her eyes. Compared to ghoul-talk with Jarr'ah, this type of talk was on a whole other level she couldn't even define. One she didn't know of and couldn't grasp or understanding.  
"If I…told you I would try to give up on wasting my time with _him_…and told you that it was possible that I could fall for you, what would you say?" Symphony asked, not sure he could bring himself to meet her eyes.  
"I'd tell you…that maybe we should…break up." 


	18. Chapter 17

*{Chapter 17}

"It's so cold! I totally _hate _this; I'm freezing my mittens off." Jarr'ah complained, whining as he rubbed his gloved hands together in desperate need for warmth. He shuddered in his puffy winter coat as a breezed pasted. Mortalia giggled behind her light grey scarf. She turned her head to him, her short bob hairdo turning too. As her bangs fell back to her forehead, she was thankful for the small amount of extra warmth. She took Jarr'ah's hands, rubbing them against her own black gloved hands.  
"Its Holt's fault that we're still out here, blame him whenever he actually _gets _here." She giggled softly.  
"He'd dead whenever he gets here, that's for sure. Making me freeze like this…really, what kind of lover is he?" Jarr'ah said, leaning forward to look around. He sighed, Holt nowhere to be seen.  
Mortalia scooted closer to him, the icy front steps of Monster High freezing her bottom. She sniffed, leaning her head to him. She hated winter; it gave her a runny nose for no good reason. Darn unreasonable winter…  
"He'll come soon, don't worry." Mortalia said, pulling down her sleeve. Her wrist watch, which had been palm-side up, ticked seven forty-two. "He's still got a few minutes left, chill."  
"If he's late again…" Jarr'ah began, cuddling up to Mortalia. "And on the first day of our junior year too…"  
"He promised he'd be early, so just wait." Mortalia shook her head.  
"Fine, fine." Jarr'ah shook his head, disapproving of Mortalia's babying him. She _always _spoiled him…  
Just then Jackson came running towards them in a hurry. His wild bird-like hairdo was one of which belonged to Holt. Jarr'ah stood, offering the boy an awkward grin.  
"Hey there." he said, just to be kind.  
"Huh?" Jackson said, being catch off guard. He continued running, sparing Jarr'ah a wave as he pasted him. "Morning! Better hurry or you'll be late."  
"Late my foot." Jarr'ah muttered, watching as Jackson ran into the school. He stomped his feet, unsatisfied and angry. "We've been waiting out here _all _morning! What the heck was that?"  
"Well, at least he's early." Mortalia giggled, standing. Her white button up unwrinkled underneath her knitter black sweater-shawl without sleeve. She headed up the stairs, her dark jeans flexing with the movement of her legs. She stopped at the top step, looking back at Jarr'ah. "Well, come on. Stop pouting and let's go – I've got classes to get to."  
"_Ugh_," Jarr'ah rolled his eyes, grabbed his red backpack and tossing it over his shoulder. "Fine, but if Holt doesn't come out before lunch, then it's so over with us."  
"Oh shut up," Mortalia said, walking ahead. She held the door open as Jarr'ah walked through. She quickly closed it and jogged to take her place next to Jarr'ah. "You two break up _every_ Tuesday just to make up on Thursday."  
"No one asked you." Jarr'ah said with a cold glare. "And it's _Monday_, so there, take that."  
"Sure, sure, now come on already, would you?" Mortalia said, grabbing his wrist. She pulled him forward, forcing him to speed up his pace. They jogged down the overly crowded hallway, looking like childish older classmen as they headed for the office.  
"What's the rush?" Jarr'ah called behind Mortalia.  
She turned her head, still jogging. "Did you _forget_ we don't have our classes and they start in about _five_ minutes?"  
"What a lame morning!" Jarr'ah groaned, letting his head fall back. He allowed Mortalia to pull him, pretending to be asleep as he shut his eyes.

"How were your classes?" Jarr'ah said, joining his best ghoul friend at one of the table in the Scarebrary.  
She looked up from her book, gave a casual shrug. "Eventful…same old, same old. Introductions, Ice Breaker games, and et cetera, you know. What about you? How did your classes go?"  
"Considering the fact that my first period is Aquatic Science with the _oh so lovely _not-a-morning-monster temperamentalAquaria, my second period is Deaducation, and then Dead Languages 2, I would go with Absolute Hell." Jarr'ah concluded, laying his cheek to the table. "I'm totally exhausted. I swear Coach Igor has it out for me this year for slacking off both last year and in our freshman year. I can feel it: he totally hates me."  
"Then don't slack off." Mortalia said with a coy smile as she flipped a page.  
"Whatever, you're probably not even reading," Jarr'ah said, lifting his head from the table. He pushed down the top of her book, attemping to get her attention. "Anyway, better subject: what's your morning classes looking like?"  
"Hmmm," Mortalia thought. "Let me see…my first period is History of the Undead, second is Fierce Fashion 101, and third is Dragonometry."  
"Well at least you get to sleep in your first period! Aquaria would murder me if she catches me sleeping." Jarr'ah said with a sigh as he put his palm to his chin.  
"Not really," Mortalia began, pushing her thick square black glasses further up the bridge of her nose. "I picked a seat up front."  
"Such a fool," Jarr'ah shook his head. "But you're my Tallie, so I actually expected that from you. How is Fierce Fashion 101? I wanted that class this year, but didn't get it…"  
"Well…" Mortalia sighed, lowering her eyes. They became cold.  
"Well?" Jarr'ah questioned, his brow lifted.  
Mortalia closed her book, marking her place with her silk blue bookmark that had actually been a first place Science Fair ribbon stored in a plastic carrier. She moved the dark green book aside, leaning forward.  
"Well you see," she whispered, placing her hand near her mouth. Jarr'ah leaned in to hear. "There's a _certain someone _in that class, so I don't think I'll actually like that class this year."  
"Certain someone?" Jarr'ah questioned. "Who?"  
Mortalia's eyes rolled. "What do you mean _who_? Globs – I'm talking about _him_!"  
"_Him, who?_" Jarr'ah questioned, not catching on.  
"Perhaps she's referring to me? I do believe that's that most suitable answer, am I correct?" a familiar voice sounded, hanging above them.  
Jarr'ah's eyes glanced up, only to find a familiar stranger.  
"And you are?" he asked, staring hard at the stranger's face. It was youthful, aged only by wisdom. In the strangers highway eyes were a strong, heavy sense of conceit… "Oh my Na'vi…"  
"How did you find me?" Mortalia stood, her dark purple mid-neck length hair falling in front of her face. She grabbed the dark green book from the table, slyly walking away from the table of which she had been sitting at.  
The stranger with highway eyes followed, his eyes flickering with delightful as a cool grin crossed his face.  
He followed Mortalia, stalking behind her with slow steps and a straight-ahead pace. She walked slow, admiring his persistence greatly.  
A dazed expression crossed her face as she began recalling memories of their past. What had this person wanted with her now?  
She slowed to a stop, being hidden between two tall shelves.  
"It's been a while…"  
Symphony nodded his head, putting his hands in his jean pockets. The black denim of his skinny jeans seemed to release their clingy strain on his legs. "It has been quite some time, hasn't it?"  
"Well," Mortalia turned around to face him. She crossed her arms across her purple sweater. "Aren't you going to answer my question? How did you find me?"  
"Well…what do you expect me to say?" Symphony asked, turning his head away, crossing his arms as well. His off the shoulder black shirt wrinkled a bit. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't find you at some point?"  
"Fine. Point taken. Better question: _why _did you find me?" Mortalia blinked, her gaze unbreakable as she stared at the books opposite to her as she leaned against the bookshelf.  
"Do I not deserve an explanation?" Symphony asked, his voice damped with bitter sorrow. He cleared his throat, swallowing hard. "Or perhaps, am I not of value enough? Or maybe do I have no right to know why you suddenly disappeared for a whole year without alerting _anyone_?"  
"It was one year, one year that has already passed. There is no importance in telling you now…" Mortalia said, her voice cold.  
"Mortalia…what happened to us?" symphony whispered lightly, wearing his heart on his sleeve. His saddened voice found Mortalia's ears, causing her frown to deepen. Guilt had stained her.  
Her eyes began to feel heavy as the memories set in. she grabbed onto her heart tightly, desperate for closure.  
"What happen to us?" she repeated. "_You _happened to us. I can explain it if you want really…I can give you the whole break down about everything I've been thinking since I saw you this morning in second period. You know…the moment I saw your beautiful face, I was reminded of something. I remembered those dark emotions of feeling jealous of you, and then next all of those happy and bright emotions of an infectious love that seemed to plant itself inside of me and spread throughout my whole being. But then, just like on that day we parted, I had a thought. There's no point in 'possible love' if you can't even admit to being in love first. You can say he's your first love and tell yourself just how much he meant to you, but if you're going to forget him...forget all about him and love me and only me...you have to resolve your heart first. Do you even know what it wants? Are you sure it even loves me? Are you positive all along that those feelings you had for me...weren't just the feeling you have for a rain soaked kitten to begin with? Unless you're really sure that those feelings are love and that you're confident that you can only have me in your heart...than...please...don't appear before me like this directly. My heart can't take this type of pain. I don't want to feel like the bad guy! I mean really…I can wait for your heart to decide and make the final decision, but I can't allow myself to love you until I get word of the final decision...because...I don't even know what love is. And my heart is torn because of it, because of you. So please...just don't..."  
Symphony, with his eyes watering, stepped closer to Mortalia. He stepped closer and closer, until he had been inches from her. He put his forehead to hers, gave her upper arms a strong squeeze. His now dark navy blue hair with the exotic mysterious temped shimmer tickled her nose. He shut his eyes before the tears could slip. Still they wet his long eyelashes.  
He clenched his teeth, causing Mortalia to cover her mouth for the fear of her quieted sobs becoming loud. She too shut her eyes, listening as he cried softly. "Let's keep meeting up from now on." He said faintly.  
"I…I can't do this. Not now…I just…" Mortalia stood, preparing to escape. Before she could take two steps away, Symphony grabbed tightly to her wrist, causing her to jerk back. She fell back against him.  
"I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry I didn't try to resolve my feelings early." He said to her, hugging onto her tightly, as if he was afraid to let go.  
As if he did she'd disappear again, and just go missing all over again.  
"Did you not think about how I felt?" Mortalia questioned. "I…I think I'm in love with you…so wouldn't you…?"  
Symphony kissed her hair, hugging her close. His heart began to pound in his chest. "I'll start now, right here and right now if you want me to."  
"Then just do it! Admit you love him so that you can start forgetting me…because my heart…it's lonely. I don't care if you don't love me, I just miss you! I miss you and everything about you. I miss having you near me. So please…just say it, say it so you can start resolving the feelings in your heart. I hate waiting, and you…you've kept me waiting for two years!"  
"You're such a bad girl," Symphony chuckled, sniffing back tears. "You shouldn't wait on anyone…not me, not anyone…"  
"How could I not?" Mortalia smiled, trying not to cry anymore. "I think it's possible I may be head over tombstones in love with you."  
"And I…" Symphony inhale, taking a deep breath. It shook as it escaped him, "sadly, am still in love with that god dammed incubus."  
Mortalia turned to him, turning on her heel. She lifted to her tippy toes, snaking her arms around Symphony. Within that next moment, her lips found his. With their reunion kiss, her overbearing emotions of bright and happy love suddenly made her blood run fast in her veins.  
Her heart rushed, pounding in her chest. Her temperature raised, her face heating to an appropriate red.  
She pulled away, looked up at Symphony with a deep sense of love flickering in her eyes. Her smile twitched slightly, unable to hold the joy she felt. Truly, she'd been waiting long.  
"Even if you don't love me…even if you didn't miss me…I've missed you, more than you'll ever know. And my heart…it finally stopped hurting." She said, her voice light, faint.  
"You must have waited so long. Putting up with a love-sick manster like me…you're such a bad girl." Symphony said quietly with a soft smile.  
"Well…we're bad together. I'm in love with a fool, and you're the fool in love." Mortalia said, gently placing her lips to his.


	19. Chapter 18

*{Chapter 18}

"Funny," Symphony sighed, smiling widely as he lowered his head. A soft chuckle escaped him. Mortalia gave him a look of warmth, happy to be at his side and holding his hand once again. Confusion flickered about her eyes; a bright smile crossed her face.  
She bumped her arm to his. "What is?"  
"History, my dear love." Symphony said, glancing over to her. She'd been stared up at him, smiling from the familiar nickname she longed to be called. Her face was a warm summer pink, her smile tender and eyes loving. He looked away, smiling smugly. He felt confident receiving such forgiving love. "It seems to be repeating itself."  
"In what way?" Mortalia asked, blinking. She waited for him to answer.  
He looked around, glancing at all the eyes on them. He wondered why they stared. "Well," he began. "We're both starting GSA around the same time, for the second time. And, again, you're already a member and I'm a starting member."  
"I don't think of it that way." Mortalia said, shutting her eyes as she walked, her arm linked through his. Peace washed over her. Her heartbeat was steady and beating soundly.  
It had been a refreshing flowing rhyme in her ears.  
"And in what way do you think of it?" symphony asked. "I rather liked my 'theme'. I sounded cool."  
Mortalia giggled, bumping her arm to his again. "Well, as I see it, we're both new members."  
"I suppose so. New year, new club, start fresh. Sounds good to me." Symphony nodded with agreement.  
"Thought so," Mortalia said, nudging her head against his shoulder. When he cracked a smile she stopped, just letting her head rest against his still bony shoulder. Oh how she remembered this shoulder, the hand that was laced with hers, his warmth and sweet song-like laughter. She knew well. "Jarr'ah will be so excited."  
"Well, we'll see. Maybe we'll find out that he doesn't need us anymore." Symphony noted teasingly.  
Mortalia shook her head in disbelief. "You may not need _you_, but _I'm _vice president and co-founder of GSA. He _needs_ me."  
"A little cocky, aren't we?" Symphony raised a brown brow. He smiled her newly found certain and self-assured attractiveness.  
"Not cocky," she replied, lifting her nose in her air as she had recalled him doing so many times. "Just _confident_."

"Oh My Na'vi!" Jarr'ah said, his eyes wide with excitement. He lunged forward, hugging his best friend. "Co-pres is back! FINALLY! Do you even _know _how long I've been doing your secretary job?"  
Mortalia watched as Jarr'ah rolled his eyes, shaking his head in disappointment. She giggled. "Sorry, bestie."  
"Don't apologize," a ghoul said, approaching the small circle of Symphony, Mortalia, Holt, and Jarr'ah that had formed at Aquaria's classroom doorway. She put a frosted cerulean, sprinkled with white freckles hand to her grey/dull brown mini pencil skirt hip. She tossed her overlapping waves of snow colored hair with bright yellow accents, revealing a long pointed ear with a black stud. The expression on her angularly sharp round face with the distinct arch and flattering cheekbones was one of annoyance. She gave Jarr'ah a look, raising her white, perfectly waxed and arched to perfection eyebrow. "And you know lying is a san, right?"  
"I do now," Jarr'ah said, putting up his hands playfully in defense. He flashed her a puppy-dog look. "Forgive me, sub-secretary?"  
"Not on your life." The ghoul said, turning her head away from him. Her wavy mess of hair moved too.  
"Um…Sub-secretary?" Mortalia questioned, glanced at the ghoul. She'd been as pretty as a peach with curvaceous framework while also possessing a thin figure. With her sassy narrowed cool-cat shade of soft pink eyes and her feisty demeanor, she had been fairly intimating as she was beautiful.  
She seemed to ooze fierceness, with a hint of spicy jazz spunk.  
"The name's Avalon-"  
"Um, you mean Crystalyn." Jarr'ah interrupted.  
The ghoul, turned her head to him, giving him an ice cold glare. "As I said…_Avalon_. You can think of it as sort of my nickname."  
"Um, yeah, sure, I'm Mortalia," Mortalia said, offering her hand.  
Avalon took it, shaking it with a firm grip. She offered a smile of pure friendliness and kindness. "Cute name. You're part mortal I'm guessing?"  
"Yeah," Mortalia shrugged a shoulder, smiling back with her own crooked smile. "My boyfriend is too. We're both part demon and part human, but he's also part siren."  
"Yo," Symphony lifted his hand casually. "The name's Symphony – and I'm actually one hundred percent demon, eighty percent human, and fifty percent siren."  
"Impressive," Avalon said with a smug grin and lifted eyebrow as she comfortably crossed her eyebrows. "Not bad."  
"Yes, well…" Symphony said, giving the same smug grin, forever cool.  
"Alright, enough of that," Jarr'ah said, popping up in between them. "Q and A time. First question: What's up with your hair? Wasn't it, like, dark blue or something?"  
"Correction," Symphony began as Jarr'ah toyed with the loose pieces of his now auburn hair that fell along his broad bony shoulders. "It was dark navy blue. And it only turns that color during the night, usually anyway. Really I have no explanation as for its self-dye job yesterday."  
"Weird." Jarr'ah glared, as if he'd been truly odd.  
Symphony shrugged, not caring. "Well, I _am _a monster after all. If we weren't weird, we wouldn't be unique – and then we wouldn't be _us_."  
"Good point," Avalon noted. "Second question: Haven't I seen you before?"  
"Perhaps." Symphony answers. "It is quite possible you've seen me around school a time or so."  
"No, no," Avalon shook her head, thought roaming about her light pink eyes. "I've seen you somewhere else, but I just can't seem to place where…but definitely somewhere."  
Symphony thought for a moment. Then, "Well, I'm not sure. This is my first time meeting you. I don't recall seeing you anywhere."  
Avalon continued to think. "If memory serves…I think it was…Haunt the Halls, at our school dance! Jeepers, that's totally it! I remember because you were the only one standing against the wall with a sad look on your face. I kept wondering why you even went at all…"  
"Ah, yes. I remember you now, you attempted to make small talk with me." Symphony noted with a certain nod, now remembering.  
"Yeah," Avalon said with curious eyes. "But then, without even saying a word, you got up and left…third question. Why?"  
"No reason." Symphony blinked, his eyes blank, as if he was hiding something and wanted to act casually. As if, hidden behind that blankness, was a secret. His expression too was blank, solid.  
Avalon's eyes squinted. "And that night…you didn't meet my eyes once because you were too busy looking around, like you were waiting for something, for some type of signal."  
"You mean _someone_," a voice sounded. "And that signal would be me."  
Everyone turned to identify the voice's owner. A face of shock crossed Symphony's feminine profile. "You…"  
"What, you didn't expect me to join in the fun?" Twig said with a snide mocking grin and playful eyes.  
"What do you want?" Symphony glared, his eyes intense with his hardened glare.  
Avalon blinked, leaning towards Jarr'ah. "Whose this guy?"  
"An old foe," Symphony said, jerking his head to the side to answer her. Avalon went stiff at his glare.  
"_Friends_ shouldn't say things that aren't funny." Twig said with a blank gaze. His frown curled into a smile. It gave Mortalia chills. "Anyway. I just came to return something to you, don't worry."  
"What is it?" Symphony said, darting his eyes to Mortalia. She had shrunk into herself, trying to make herself invisible with the power of wishing.  
"A gift." Twig said. "Take good care of it."  
Suddenly visible was a bright red haired, black eyed, olive skinned Ashleigh, peeking from behind Twig. She blinked, opening her mouth. A small roar escaped her.  
"I'ma loin." She said softly.  
Symphony sighed. He'd been searching for the little monster all morning. She sat to his heels, opened his arms. Ashleigh, now much taller, ran to him. She tripped over an invisible object, falling into his arms.  
"Really, where'd you go anyway?"  
"Rawr, I'ma loin." The young eight year old said, shaking her head and roaring. Her uneven red ponytails shook too.  
Symphony sighed. "Alright then, I see you're being difficult."  
"And who is that?" Avalon questioned, asking Jarr'ah.  
"Beats me." He answered, his brow raised.  
"Anyway, go with Big Sis Mortalia. You remember her, don't you?" Symphony said, petting her head. He stood, walking around her. "Be back in a sec."  
"Mortalia watched with intense worry as he left, exiting the classroom. Mortalia, feeling a desperate need to follow them, stepped around the young girl. "Um, here, stay with Uncle J. I have to…"  
"Wait, Tallie! I don't babysit!" Jarr'ah called before the door could close.  
Mortalia ignored him, jogging to catch up with the mansters who'd already disappeared from the hallway. She rounded the corner, spotting them. As they turned their head at her sudden gasp, she hid behind the wall, lucky that they hadn't seen her. She heard Symphony sighs yet again.  
She peeked her head around to see. He'd been leaning against the lockers, his eyes closed. "Didn't I tell you never to step foot in my club room?"  
"Aw, you're soo mean to me, best friend." Twig said, stepping closer to Symphony. Mortalia watched, so silent that she didn't even breathe as he put his hand to the wall, standing in front of Symphony. "Why can't I join too? I'm friendly enough with both genders."  
Symphony opened his eyes only to find Twig's self-satisfied grin. "Friendly? As if…you're one of _those_."  
Twig's grin became forbiddingly elated; his eyes alight with intense engagement. "Are you calling me a harlot? Are you saying that I'm promiscuous? How _un-cute _of you."  
"Like I care." Symphony said, daring to look away. Memories seemed to replay in his eyes. Twig's hand slid off the wall, slithered to Symphony's shoulder. It snacked along his long neck and began to caresses his cheek.  
"You know something; you can be so cold to your ex-lovers. But it seems it's only me your like that to. Tell me, is this how you show your affection?"  
Symphony swallowed hard, Twig's hand now holding his chain and forcing him to meet his eyes. "Don't you have better things to do? …Where's that 'To-Do List' you carry around?"  
" You mean the one this all the names in it?" Twig asked, pretending to be innocently, however with his grin sly. "You know…_her_ name's there too…and she's actually next on my list, after Clawd, of course. It'll be fifth time with him today."  
"You're…horrible." Symphony glared. "One of those disgusting guys who sleep around just so for cash…"  
"Let's get one thing straight." Twig said, glaring delightedly. "I'm _not_ one of _those_ guys. He's just a manster with varied tastes who is familiar with everyone at various times. Remember that."  
Symphony froze, his glare solid as Twig hopped backwards, stepping away. He watched as the incubus flash him a fearsome content smile with a pleased glare. He waited, witnessing his leave. He walked off down the hall, swinging his arms happily. Once he was gone, Symphony sank to the floor, taking a deep breath.  
His fist slammed against the locker, causing Mortalia to jump.  
His obedient, yet disorderly auburn waved hair hid his face. From where she stood, Mortalia could see his clenched teeth.  
"What am I going to do if he seduces her?" he said, his voice intense with worry. He leaned his head back against the lockers, shutting his eyes tightly. Mortalia took that chance to take a seat next to him.  
When he didn't open his eyes, she placed a hand over his clenched fist.  
"He won't," she said with strong certainty and deep belief. "There's no way he could. I won't let him."  
Symphony, with his eyes still shut, seemed to relax, although his shoulders were still stiff with worry. He allowed his head to fall against her comforting shoulder.  
In his mind he thought: _she must never have met an incubus._


	20. Chapter 19

*{Chapter 19}

Mortalia, dazed and absent, stared intensely at framed photo in her hands. In the photo was a woman, her beautiful skin the shade of a soft grey and her divine straight purple hair raining down to the middle of her back. She was hauntingly memorable, a face not easily forgotten because of her criminally attractive visual of beauty. Although she'd been turned, facing left, the illustration of goddess beauty still made themselves known.  
In the photo was seen with a man. A man quite taller than herself, handsomely featured with a well-built profile. With his charming mint skin, hair of pale jade, and powerfully developed manufactured build, he seemed to compliment her, equally meeting up to the standard contrast of her beauty. Like Yin and Yang, they created each other, balancing each other dearly. In the photo the woman had been clothed in glossy leather dark indigo blue leotard with hints of black that clung to her like a second layer of skin; her cape had been the same color, if only a few shades lighter.  
The circular piece that kept together both sides of her hooded cape had been pure gold, while the long leather gloves that climbed past her elbows had been the same dark indigo. Her nails were painted a pale shade of purple that didn't seem to meet up to the color standards of lavender.  
The man standing directly across from her, with his lips meeting hers, was dressed in a short sleeved shirt that displayed an off shaded white shirt across the chest and upper back, creating somewhat of a V both in the front and back with pale red going across the stomach and back. Parts of the white leaked into the pale red, created thick lines on the sides of the shirt.  
In the photo the man seemed to embrace the woman gently, his hands pressed to her hips and somewhat lower back. The expressed on his face was one of a love and care. It was heartfelt, touching even. Although his eyes had been comfortable closed, you could tell he was stricken with a serene awe. As for the woman, her expression was of a tranquil joy, one that seems to create a vivid scene. With her hand placed to the man's upper arm, resting lightly against his sculpted muscle, she seems to care deeply for the man kissing her.  
As Mortalia stared so very intensely at this photo, her heart seemed to become warm. At the sight of her parent's youthful photograph, she felt a deep sense of harmony. Before her eyes they seemed to glow, completely at peace and in love. She wondered how two people could look so beautiful kissing one another, wondered how two people could create such overpowering emotions of pure affection.  
She hugged the framed photo to her heart, feeling the overwhelming sense of being moved.  
"Dear," a voice poured into her ears, causing her head to lift and eyes to widen. "What are you doing?"  
She turned slowly, having recognized the familiar voice. As she met her mother's off-shaded dark purple eyes, her own dark purple eyes began to water. Dropping the photo to the window ledge's wooden seat of golden brown, she clung to her mother, her heart bursting from the aching pain she felt of missing her, for she had been absent for so long.  
Raven giggled softly, allowing a small laugh of sorts. She pet the head of her weeping daughter that'd been rubbing her tears against her dark indigo just above the knees dress of leather. "You must have missed me, haven't you? How cute. I missed you to."  
Mortalia, weak from missing her mother, cried more at the reassuring sound of her mother's honey sweet voice. "I'm missed you so much! I'm so happy you're back home." She admitted, trying to sniff back her tears.  
Raven bent down a bit to embrace her dear sweet daughter with comforting secure arms, hugging her back just as tight. "And I have a surprise for you."  
"A surprise?" Mortalia pulled away. She lifted her eyes to her mother, blinking in wonderment.  
Raven nodded, softly pressing her hand to her pride and joy's face that seemed resembled her oh so well. She tucked curly dark purple hair behind Mortalia's ear, wiped her tear stained face with her thumb. She offered a kind smile, placing a kiss just beneath her eye. Mortalia winced at the light feeling of the kiss. Raven couldn't help but giggle.  
"It's a very big surprise. Although, I'm not sure how you'll take it."  
"What do you mean?" Mortalia asked, curious.  
"Here," Raven said, taking her daughter's small hand. She began to lead her away from the window ledge, thankful that her touch was enough to get rid of Mortalia's black shadows that lingered about in the background that her emotional daughter hadn't realized was there. "Come with me."  
Mortalia, staring at her mother with the now trendy neatly cut waved hair, admired the graceful gentleness of her mother. Although aged, she was still just as beautiful with sensitive features and a stunning visual. Even body wise, her figure had been one to be admired. It was charmingly slender, curvaceous and sacredly kept, owned with fine man-monster made parts. Her figure overall had been well taken care of, it'd been her temple, craved and molded to whatever she considered perfection.  
Mortalia couldn't help but be impression. Although her chest had been a B-cup, and her curves were only just starting to be noticed, she felt someday she'd have that same body. She hoped silently, hoping one day she possessed such fine architecture.  
"Hey there, sweetheart!" Beast Boy said, suddenly irrupting her thoughts. He charged at her, morphing into a bull.  
Her eyes widen, as she didn't expect such a thing. "F-Father! Wait, what are you-"  
"Gimme some sugar." he said, suddenly jumping into the air, launching himself. Mortalia shut her eyes, for fearing of being trampled.  
She then opened her eyes, stumbling back. She blinked, puzzled by the koala that had now been attached to me. A soft giggle escaped her, sounding about the living room. She hugged the green animal back, happy for his returned.  
"Don't go giving her such a scare," Raven said, letting her fist fall lightly to her husband's head. Her smile had been one that was amused. "You know she may still do that thing when she's scared."  
"Mother!" Mortalia said, her face reddening. "I only turned into a cat once!"  
"Try twenty times," Raven said, bending down to see her face. She poked Mortalia's nose. "Scary-Cat."  
Mortalia smiled, releasing laughter. Her mother had been right, but that was fine, wasn't it? It was OK for her to be a Scary-Cat, right?  
At least she'd forever stay innocently shy.  
"Alright already, so where's my surprise?" she asked, her voice sounding childish, but not quite impatient.  
"Over on the couch," Raven said, nodding her chin in the direction. She folded her arms as Mortalia walked past her. "Don't get too…surprised, alright?"  
"I'll try not to…" Mortalia said, her eyes big with curiosity. She sat the koala on the floor, passing it as it morphed back into her father. She looked up to him when she felt his hand touch her shoulder.  
"And don't get mad, okay?"  
"Um, alright." She gave a nod, continuing to walk. Beast Boy joined his wife, standing not too far away. He place a hand to her lower back, a weary grin stretching across his worried face.  
Mortalia stepped forward, her hand touching the arm of the couch. Her lips parted with shock, eyes not even able to blink so that she could confirm what she was seeing.  
The boy slouched on the couch with an ankle resting on his knee glanced over to her, a sour expression on his face. "Surprise."  
"Sur…prise?" Mortalia repeated, staring at him. Much like Beast Boy he's been handsome, if only with Raven's smooth looks and features. Also like Beast Boy, his skin was mint and eyes dark jade. Like Mortalia's shared trait with Raven, his hair too was dark purple. And just like Mortalia's shared trait with Beast Boy, his ears had been pointed and elf-like.  
Somehow he resembled something to a storybook prince.  
"It's _not _nice to finally meet you, _baby sister_. Truly I was hoping I'd never have to see your _ugly _little face ever again. It's too bad, don't you think? I'm so very unlucky." He said, his voice slithery and smooth, enchantingly grim.  
Mortalia blinked, finally trying to confirm this person sitting in front of her. But she knew he'd been truly been there right before her eyes.  
The red diamond jewel dazzling from his forehead told her so.  
The red diamond jewel on _her_ forehead seemed to tell her that this all was real, and that she had _not _been imagining this situation.


	21. Chapter 20

*{Chapter 20}

_Author's Note: _

_Hey guys!~  
I was questioning whether or not to add in this link or not because I didn't want it to be art theft, but I claim HERE AND NOW that this link I'm about to post for an art piece on DA is NOT MINE and does NOT belong to me AT ALL.  
Think of this is promoting the amazing artist~_

_And by the way, this is the photo Mortalia was staring at, I love it and think it's beautiful; link:_

_ht tp : /dra kyx . deviant art . com / art / Raven-Beast-Boy-16-19929 1406_

Mortalia, puzzled by the sudden turn of events, reached for the red diamond jewel on her forehead, feeling the emotion of deep, intense confusion. "Baby sister?"  
"Dinger, small stuff." A handsome voice sounded.  
Mortalia jumped at the sudden voice, flashing around. Her heart jumped too, skipping a beat. Her eyes widened, a double?  
"Nice to make your acquaintances, doll." The manster said with an attractive cheeky cool grin . "And no, we ain't doubles, honey."  
"We're twins." The impolite prince charming said, standing from his seat on the couch. He circled around Mortalia, going to stand by his double.  
They stood side by side, creating a broad force of now unmasked alluring magnetism that seemed to explode about the room.  
Mortalia blinked, her eyes were wide as she stared at the two mansters, as if she felt the outburst of sudden untamed wave of attractiveness.  
"Twins?" she spoke, her voice soft. "You're both…twins?"  
"Well someone give the little monster a prize," the first twin said, rolling his dark jade eyes. He shoved his hands in his lengthy slim black pants, a bothersome expression gracing his striking features.  
"Dinger, doll face." The second twin said with a snapping gun gesture that reminded Mortalia of Holt.  
"How about we explain after dinner?" Beast Boy said, his grin wide with concern as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Azar, if you could-"  
"I'd rather not discus something so trivial. It was _our_ choice to live separately from _her_ and that's all there is to this story. I'm tired now. Where's my room?" the first twin said, beginning to walk away.  
"Hold on," Raven said, running after him. "Let me show you!"  
Mortalia, with a frown placed on her face, lowered her eyes. Why would he say such a thing? What made him not want to live with her?  
"Don't worry about Azazel," the second twin said, slugging an arm around her shoulders. "He's still just trying to adjust to being home again after such a long time. Don't take his words to heart, alright pretty kitty?"  
"Being home?" Mortalia repeated, blinking her eyes up to him.

"So you…have siblings now?" Jarr'ah questioned, completely lost. He sat the book he'd been reading down to the desk he'd been sitting on top of.  
Mortalia nodded stiffly, her head lifting and dropping robotically. She sighed loudly, shutting her eyes her a moment. Somehow she felt drained. "Yep, and they're not adopted. My parents just decided to keep them a secret from me."  
"That's so _not_ chiller…" Avalon mumble, coming up from behind Mortalia. She let her arms fall around her, hugging her. "I'm sorry, hun."  
"It's OK, really…just kind of weird." Mortalia said quietly.  
"Try unexpected," Jarr'ah said, turning to her. He put his elbows to his thighs, leaning forward so that he could get a better look at his best friend. Her expression had been weary, tired. "But you've got to make the best out of this situation, you know that, right?"  
"He's right, Tallie-Tallie," Holt said, joining the conversation as he entered the club meeting in Aquaria's room.  
"Yeah, I know." Mortalia opened her eyes for a moment, glancing to Jarr'ah. "It's just something I have to get use to."  
"Something _you _have to get use to?" Jarr'ah questioned teasingly. "Not only do I have to get use to your parents being home more, but now I have to get to know your siblings too. Ugh, so much work!"  
Mortalia giggled softly, her smile something like relieved. He was right; it was a change for him too. Mortalia smile was one of amusement, she had been thankful for his playfulness.  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm not alone here."  
"Thanks for leaving me out," Avalon said rolling her eyes. "Not like I wanted to get use to this complicated situation, but yeah, thanks for at least not offering to make me part of the gang."  
Mortalia giggled, much more livelier this time. "Sorry Avalon." She said sweetly, still laughing. Her eyes began to water. "I'm just not use to having so many friends, or so many people in my life. It's a little hard to multitask."  
"Aw, hun, are you crying right now? I'm sorry!" Avalon said, releasing Mortalia for a moment. She then proceed to walk around her so that she could tackle-hug her. Somehow, her eyes watered too as Mortalia began to hiccup and sob. "Don't cry, it's OK!"  
"Alright, that's enough already, Avalon!" Jarr'ah complicated, giving Avalon a look. He glued himself to Mortalia, joining in the group hug, creating warmth that Mortalia was grateful for. "She's my snuggle-buddy and has been since we were in diapers – back off!"  
"No," Avalon said playfully, trying to hug Mortalia more. "She's mine, leave her alone – you've hogged her long enough you overgrown blue monkey!"  
Jarr'ah gasped, moving away as if he'd been truly hurt. He played his part well, collapsing into Holt's arms. "Did you just _hear _what _she _said to _me_? That meanie called me an overgrown blue monkey!"  
"_Very _ cold of you, Avalon." Holt said with a disappointing shake of the head. "I disapprove."  
"Oh freeze to death, Holt." Avalon said, now standing. She put a hand to her hip, tossed her hair of white and yellow. "I've had to deal with the two of you for a whole year now. Don't you think _I _deserve some sympathy?"  
Mortalia let out another laugh, just imagining Avalon trying to deal with the lovey-dovey-ness of Holt and Jarr'ah.  
"I'm sorry for you Avalon. I'm so sorry you have to put up with these two." She said, rubbing her moist eyes with the knuckles of her hands.  
Avalon turned to her head to the weeping ghoul, flashing a wise, bright smile. "It should be all right…even if only for a little while."  
Mortalia lifted her head, flashing a gentle grin. She felt happy.  
"Yeah, "she nodded confidently. "You're right. It should be all right, no, it _will_. I know it will."  
"What'chu be talkin 'bout, Tallie?" Jarr'ah said with a playfully angry-confused face.  
"Oh shut your face, we're having a moment." Avalon said lovingly as she jog-walked over to Mortalia, attacking her with another hug. "You're so, so cute sometimes!"  
Mortalia hugged the icy fierce ghoul with a sense of humor back, happy to have such a dear friend. She began t giggle once more, a burst of joy sounding from her. In that moment, she no longer felt a sense of doubt and confusion. She would just have t make the best of her situation, because for now, everything would be alright.

_Author's Note AGAIN: _

_Hey – again! LOL. _

_Just wanted to post Azazel's link because the person who let me use her character is so super fudging awesome and great that I love them and promise to post the link, soooo YEAH, here it is:_

_http : / oniriri-chan . deviant art . com /favourite s/#/d4ubmzj_

_All character rights to Azazel (and rightfully his twin, Azar, although I hadn't told the awesome Kawaiitas about him because he was surprise, btw: SURPISE!~) belongs to my dear friend Kawaiitas_

_Thanks for letting me use your character sweetest_

_(*heart*-3)_

_Author's Note AGAIN AGIN: _

_On a last note~_

_Thanks to ALittleRiddle (*one of my coler friends – don't worry about that little inside joke just now, 'kay? ;} ) for letting me use her so super epicly cool OC, Avalon-3! I totally forgot to add that in on the chapter that Avalon was in (*so super so super so much super sorry T-T), but I promised to give thanks and praise her cause she's awesome and I lubs her, so yeah^-^  
Thx again!~-3  
And also: I'll be using *you know who* soon. Not sure when but soon!~ _

_Also, Avalon's bio here:  
__https : /browse . deviant art . com /?qh=&sec tion=&q=avalon+MH#/d4hunky_


	22. Chapter 21

*{Chapter 21}

_Author's Note: _

_Hey guys. IC here._

_Alright so this chapter and the next, let me warn you,_

_Has been upload and taken down, and now re-upload. _

_This chapter and the next are centered mainly on [my favorite OC] Symphony. _

_It is beyond weird and most likely will take some getting use to or something. _

_If you find that you don't like this chapter and the next one, fine_

_DON'T READ IT_

_Because right now my mood is actually pretty much crap_

_And at the moment I don't even care._

_(Currently trying to tone out my crap mood with good music, so please bare with my crap attitude – I'm trying my best not to be all Suzy-Mc-Meaner and whatever)(And don't ask about the Suzy-Mc-Meaner thing…it's a private joke between me and friends from IRL)_

_Moving on: Read it or don't._

_I could spoil the whole thing for you right now if you want actually, but I won't._

_Here is, however, something like a summary for those who aren't sure whether or not they want to read this chapter and the next one:_

_Symphony, my lovely androgynous OC, in these next two chapters will do two out of three things:_

_Meet Mortalia's family, along with the rest of the gang_

_Become a model_

_Dump Mortalia and leave her for Twig _

_Alright so that wasn't a real summary…_

_Like I said: I'm in a pretty bad mood ATM. _

_Let's just pretend we were playing "two truths and one lie"…_

_Anyway, so yeah._

_Two of those three things are going to happen. _

_If you still want to read, go right ahead._

_But you WERE warned: the next to chapters are BEYOND weird._

_So don't go spamming me or anything like that…_

* * *

"Are you guy sure this is a good idea?" Mortalia questioned, worry lingering about her words.  
"Well, there's no backing down even if this wasn't a good idea." Beast Boy smiled with an encouraging smile. "The guest will be here soon."  
Mortalia tried to smile, although she was growing uneasy from his words. "Well, yeah…you're, um, right, dad."  
"Dinner's done," Raven called from the kitchen. "Someone come help and set the table!"  
Mortalia sprung from the coach at the chance, not wanting to be here when the guest arrived. "I'll-"  
"Got it, baby sis. You just…stay chill." Azar said coolly, his grin composed and unruffled as he swiftly walked past Mortalia.  
She sighed loudly. "Great…"  
"Oh Mortalia, what are you so nervous about?" Beast Boy asked from the couch as he continued to play his beloved video game.  
Mortalia glanced over at the still youthful middle aged man, dressed in a bright pink shirt with dark brown pants, and leather brown shoes along with his striped dark brown and light brown tie. She watched quietly for a moment, watching closely as he became more engaged in his video game.  
She allowed another sigh.  
"It's nothing, dad. I just…I don't know."  
"Worried over some kiddy party?" Azazel said from the living room doorway where he stood.  
Mortalia blinked her eyes over to him. For a moment she stared.  
Why had this had to happen now of all time?  
"What wrong?" the mint green boy asked, his now red eyes flickering with spiteful boredom. "Afraid we won't approve of your little boyfriend?"  
"No one asked you to approve of him…" Mortalia said under her breathe, looking away uncomfortable. Her stance grew awkward as the manster stared at her. She wondered why he didn't respond.  
"You know something," he said as he stalked closer, causing Mortalia's skin to prickle. He stopped in front of her, putting his hand to his hips. After a moment or so he lifted his hand, causing Mortalia to flinch. He dropped it to her head of moss green. "Your hair looks much better now."  
Mortalia opened her eyes, instantly not daring to meet his eyes. She swallowed the lump in her throat, wanting to play through her now straightened (yet somewhat wrinkled) shoulder length moss green that seemed to grow so very quickly without her expecting it. It all felt weird to her, especially since she just sort of work up this way.  
"I guess…" she responded.  
"And that tattoo looks nice too." The manster said, petting her head for a moment before he stalked off.  
Mortalia's face blushed apple red as she turned to watch him walk off. For a moment she struggled to find what she wanted to say.  
"T-Tattoo? H-How do you know about the tattoo on my back?"  
"I saw it when you were walking around in a towel yesterday on the way to your room. It's a pretty cool tattoo really – an all black silhouette of a raven bird, it's actually really clawesome, kid." Azazel teased.  
"W-Wait," Mortalia called before he could walk into the dining room. He didn't stop. "You saw me? Oh my ghoul, I thought your door was open when I walked by, but I wasn't sure…!"  
"No, I'm just kiddin' around," the manster shrugged, still not stopping. "But you just revealed a very big secret."  
Mortalia's eyes widen as she gasped. Her expression turned to one of worry as she stared at the denim jeaned, crisply ironed white shirt button up, and black-tux jacket dressed manster as he walked off. She regretted replying in the first place.  
Before she had the chance to sigh again, the doorbell rung, causing her to jump.  
"Beast Boy," Raven called. "The door: get it!"  
"Yeah, yeah, sure…" Beast Boy said from the couch, his eyes glued to the television screen, his fingers clicking away at the controls speedily.  
"I got it!" Mortalia called back to her mother. She spun on her heel, reaching for the doorknob. With a twist, she pulled the door open, preparing herself to greet her guest.  
The first one to greet her was Jarr'ah, with a joyful smile on his face and dressed down in a pink tuxedo with a clean white tie and white button up shirt. "Hey bestie! What's for dinner?"  
"Hey," Mortalia blushed a bit, excited by Jarr'ah's upbeat energy. "I think mom is making Cream of Nute with Eel and wild mushrooms, or something like that."  
"Coolio," Jarr'ah said as Mortalia moved away from the doorway. He entered the home, dragging Holt behind him. "Hope your parents and siblings don't mind couples."  
Mortalia giggled softly, her eyes flickering happily. Jarr'ah with his hair wrinkled and gelled back had been dressed smoothly, his tux the color of baby blue and his shoes the same shade. Along with Holt, who worn his fire-y hair as wild as ever, handsome dressed in a white tux, open baby blue shirt, and white shoes, they were a made match.  
"Um, I don't think it'd be a problem."  
"That's so chiller," Avalon said, walking in behind them. She'd been dressed in a lovely scarlet knee-length dress with skinny straps and a ruffled outer layer at the bottom that created a half-circle around her toned legs. Her sleeved had been the kind that hang off the shoulder. Her hair had been worn down, it rained past her broad shoulders and was the same attractive white with yellow accents. "But someone should've told me earlier. I could've brought _my _date."  
"Sorry," Mortalia apologized as she walked in, admiring her 'no nonsense' curves in the dress. "I should've told you."  
"It's fine. My ghoulfriend probably would've wanted to come anyway. She's not a ghoul that likes social gatherings." Avalon explained with a devoted smile, stating that she knew her ghoulfriend oh so very well.  
"Oh, I see." Mortalia nodded, still holding open the door.  
Walking in last was Symphony, dressed feminine in his skintight strapless off the shoulders long sleeved cheetah dress that left no room for wrinkles with the dramatic hairy dark brown fur vest. Along with that he wore glossy fiercely tall cherry red pumps with a curvy thin heel, slimming transparent brown stockings that made his leggy legs look slender and sexy, and a silver diamond necklace that was simply a chain with multiple tiny gleaming diamond gems.  
"Hey there, love." He greeted, toying with the ends of his hair bashfully.  
Mortalia stared at him for a quick moment as she closed door. His profile had been as pretty as a picture (_*anyone for cliques? ;}),_ his waved blazing orange hair with charismatic burnt orange accents falling dramatically around his round face and draping past his broad reveal shoulders and deepened collarbone, while flirtatiously cut bangs falling over his forehead, lightly along his eyes. His makeup had been light, natural. Only clear gloss with a touch of red blush caressing his cheekbones and upper cheek and a delicate curvy streak of black eyeliner showed.  
"You got a new hairdo?" Mortalia questioned, blushing by his mature magnetism that was alluring and captured one's eye.  
Although Mortalia had been clothed in her denim black to the ankle long dress, white pearl bracelet, and black toms, her femininity didn't feel threatened. Somehow, she felt just as pretty.  
"Yeah, you like? It's just wavy with bangs, really simple actually," Symphony said, pulling her into a hug. "And I see you did too. Green hair makes you look _way _different, but it's totally cute, hon. Really diverse, totally brings out that Mortalia-charm."  
Mortalia smiled shyly, allowing Symphony to embrace her. She felt his love, knowing that he adored her and wanted to gush over her in order to boast her confidence.  
"Thanks," she replied joyfully. "The new looks definitely makes me feel different that's for sure. And yeah, I like your new look too. It goes well with your face and, um…architecture."  
Symphony stumbled back a few steps, glancing down to analyze himself. "You really think so?"  
Mortalia gave a sure nod. "Yep."  
Symphony took her arm, watching as the others went into the dining room area, making their way towards the kitchen (due to most likely Jarr'ah's influence no doubt). He waited a moment until they were out of eyesight. Once they were gone, he leaned towards her, putting his hand to his mouth. "I know you said to wear whatever I want, but I'm a bit nervous. For one thing I'm not dressed in my usual Goth look, since I wanted to try something classy. Do I look weird? Should I change?"  
Mortalia considered the first time they meant and what he'd been wearing, and to school at that! She gave it a serious thought for a moment and then shook her head. She whispered back, "It's okay, you look fine the way you are. Just be comfortable, I promise no one will judge."  
"Well , hon, I'm sort of a boy in a dress," Symphony stated, pointing out the obvious. "I doubt anyone _won't _judge."  
Mortalia offered a soft giggle to his expense, in order to comfort him. "Well, I'm sure they'll just think your pretty, so don't worry."  
"You think so?" Symphony bit his lip, feeling insecure, yet calm next to his ghoulfriend.  
"I know so," Mortalia said, beginning to take the lead as she led him towards the dining room. "Now let's go meet and greet."  
"Mix and mingle!" Symphony cheered energetically.  
"That's the spirit." Mortalia cheered back.

* * *

"So _this _is your boyfriend?" Raven asked politely as she served the meal of Cream of Nut along with Eel and wild mushrooms. Once the meal had been set and spread along the table, she took her seat, smoothing down her navy blue dress before she sat for fear that the wide side split would cause trouble.  
"Yep," Mortalia said nervously, her eyes lowered and face red.  
"Well," Beast Boy said with a quick laugh, at Mortalia's left. "He's really creative, isn't he?"  
"T-Thanks," Symphony said, giving a grateful, respectful nod. His smile, although kind, was rather crooked. "I like to experiment with my look."  
"This is what you call experimenting?" Azazel said quietly, along he hadn't meant to. He stared at his plate of food, not sure if he was hungry or not.  
Symphony glanced to him, a timid friendly smile on his face. "Yeah, well, it's easier to think of it as dress-up."  
"That's really smokin', jewlie." Azar announced, opposite to Mortalia at the dining table.  
Mortalia's eyes darted to him, her face pretty and pink. She felt her heart flutter at his words. She was impressed, as no one had ever uttered such a phrase. By Symphony's admiring gaze, you could tell that he was impressed. A smile found her face. "'Smokin, huh? Do you mean it?"  
"Well, yeah, sure I do, princess," Azar said confidently, smoothly as he somewhat checked out Symphony, admiring what he saw. He seemed to be appreciative of the art of Symphony's exotic transformation. "Jewlie's got seriously wicked mad trend. It's real bad, in fact – something that could blow your top."  
Symphony blinked at the handsome Azar, with his striking features and alluring cool looks. His face lit to a promising passionate red.  
"Um…thanks. I didn't expect…I mean I…"  
Mortalia watched as he lowered his gaze, his face still red. She giggle, happy that the night hadn't been chaotic like she thought it'd be. "Why do you call him 'jewlie'?"  
"I don't really know, princess. Probably 'cause this sweetie here is a true diamond gem." Azar said thoughtfully with a soft smile and somewhat dazed eyes, as if in deep thought as he put a hand against his cheek.  
Mortalia's head fell to the side for a moment. She wondered what he thought. Was it the same thing she was thinking when she first met Symphony? She watched, continuing to eat her dinner as the people around her made light conversation.  
Azar stared at Symphony, causing Symphony to act fickle and indifferent somewhat. She watched, her eyes curious.  
For the first time she witnessed the true unstained version of Symphony, of which he seemed more female then male, a version of himself in which he possessed no manly arrogance or false intimidating bravado.  
She stared, her feelings growing innocently loving as she watched him struggle to eat. It was cute, really, but she still wasn't sure what she'd been seeing.

* * *

"Well," Jarr'ah began, putting a hand to Mortalia's thigh to define the seriousness of his words. "It's safe to say I have a gay-crush on your older brother."  
"Which one?" Mortalia said, her eyebrows somewhat twitching along with her smile. She knew he'd been joking, but it still made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.  
"Both," Jarr'ah blinked, staring at confusedly, as if they both _hadn't _been attractive. "Duh."  
Holt gave him a stern glare from the purple beanbag he'd been sitting on. "That's not funny."  
The atmosphere in Mortalia's purple room became thick. Jarr'ah played it off with a giggle and a wave of his hand. "Oh my sexy flame, no need to be jealous. I promise I won't let this affect our relationship."  
Holt lifted an eyebrow, not believe his words. "_Right_."  
Jarr'ah returned his sour expression with a lovingly sad expression. "Don't go doubting your honey-bunny. We've been dating for three years, that's _rude_."  
"Whatever," Holt turned his head away, pretending to be angry.  
Jarr'ah stood from Mortalia's bed, his pose stiff with stillness. He marched over to Holt, took a seat in his lap. "Say you love me, meanie."  
"Don't want to," Holt said, turning his head the other way.  
"You've got a chip on your shoulder." Avalon said, leaning ever so coolly from the doorway. Her expression was fiercely wise.  
Jarr'ah pointed to himself, his eyes quickly glancing at his shoulder and back to Avalon. "No I don't."  
"Not talking to you," Avalon said, her eyes narrowing as she stalked closer to Mortalia's bed. She took a seat, her eyes glancing to Symphony, who was sitting at Mortalia's desk, her position that of a shy ghoul. "You. There's a chip on your shoulder...a very large chip."  
"What does that mean?" Mortalia questioned with a clueless blink.  
Avalon focused her glance over to her way. "It's an expression meaning to look for trouble."  
"Well, why is there a chip on his shoulder?" Mortalia asked, her dark purple eyes meeting Avalon's soft pink eyes. She blinked, her eyelashes fluttering. She knew the answer, but for some reason still asked.  
"Why do you think?" Avalon countered, blinking too.  
Her eyes were just as hard, intense.  
The room fell silent.


	23. Chapter 22

*{Chapter 22}

_Author's Note: _

_Yo. IC again, like always._

_Still in a crappy mood (though the good music is numbing my senses, so all is good. I'm probably just hungry… that plus I woke up like a few mins ago at like 6pm something, so forgives crappy mood)_

_Alright so here's what's gonna happen as far as this chapter:_

_WARNING: Caution! This chapter will also be BEYOND WEIRD._

_Read at your own risk! _

_For those who weren't too happy about the decision I made or pleased with these two chapters: Don't Worry._

_I already have SOMETHING typed up._

_(Not sure if its any good though….)_

_But yeah, so anyway_

_Those who needed warning, you have been warned._

_Also: I really like this chapter, so this is why that decision was made to re-upload. This is my favorite chapter, so yeah…_

_Enjoy?_

* * *

"You've got something I like, jewlie." Azar said, just as Symphony walked past him, coming from the hallway bathroom.  
Mortalia observed the situation from her bedroom doorway, studying Symphony's blank, ruffled expression. His lips were parted; his eyes narrowed and face bright red.  
For a moment he stood there, fazed by the predicament.  
Then he proceeded to lower his head, staring at the carpet floor. He toyed with the ends of his long hair, chewing on his bottom lip. After a long pause, his head turned slightly to the side.  
"Um…are you sure…you're talking to…?"  
"I'm sure." The green boy said, lifting from his leaning position on the wall. He stepped closer to Symphony, causing him to jerk his head away bashfully, robotically. Although his face wasn't facing Azar, his eyes stared curiously. Azar defined playfully sexiness, looking so attractive dressed in his professional black slacks with the crisp wrinkles, thick classic black suspenders, fancy black dress shoes, trendy black fedora hat, and retro piano tie. He stood tall over Symphony, cocking his head. His smile was just as cool as he was. "There's no one else here, you know."  
"Well, yeah, I know, but…forget it. What…What do you like about me?"  
"You're an other word being. A creature that is mentally neither clearly feminine nor masculine, but hold characteristics of society's version of both female and male. I fancy that, I guess you could say."  
"That's it?" Symphony said grimly, a sharp grin appearing on his pleased face. His highway eyes were teasingly flirtatious.  
Mortalia could sense even from far away that somehow his Siren side had been 'activated', flipped ON like the switch of a light. She could see the demand lurking about his eyes, flickering with the need to take advantage of Azar. Even if he didn't speak and command Azar with his Siren powers, Mortalia could tell that he might control him with his Manipulation powers that came from being a Demon. His eyes started to change, changing into a shade of bright shade of red that had become infected by lingering pink.  
"Alright, so maybe that isn't all. You're also a lustful being, very elegant and tastefully emotive. I think you're sensual. Quite lovely indeed." Azar chuckled lightly, as if he couldn't believe he'd say such a thing.  
"Get to the point." Symphony looked away, his glowing red-pink eyes flickering with impatience.  
Azar's eyes became intense with curiosity. "You are drowning in sinful artistic value. Such a creepy thing you are, so inhumanly enticing. Alluring to the fullest of disturbing extents. Crafted, molded...beautiful. Like a diamond: beautiful, but transparent. Rough on the outside, heavy like a burden, and as cold as the winter season, but most definitely beautiful. I want to capture you in this state, this raw state of great importance. I want documentation of this event happening in your life. This devouring uncertainty that causes such an unforgiving majestic reaction. Become my model; allow me the honor of capturing you."  
Symphony blinked, his eyes wide. Suddenly, the highway colors of his usual eye color began to devour the red and pink. He returned to normal, his expression now one of shock and surprise.  
He blinked, going back to his proud demeanor. He crossed his arms, gave his hair a toss with the jerking gesture of his neck.  
"When the wind tell me stories….they often tell me of beings so rare. Perhaps…am I one of them?"  
The touch of Azar's hand pressing against Symphony's upper arm caused him to jump. Azar, amused by this, smiled smoothly. "You are a rare breed indeed, doll. Let me mold you into a masterpiece. I can promise that I can force that rareness out of you and show something so organic that it'll be out of this world. Trust me, sparkie."  
"…Sparkie?" Symphony questioned, lowering his eyes. A carelessly shameful smile of gentleness graced his face.  
"Sparkie…it's short for the lady-love that sparks my inspiration." Azar said coolly, feeling no embarrassment for having said such a thing.  
Mortalia wouldn't be able to live it down if she ever said such a thing out loud. She would've dared to speak such words outside her mind.  
She continued to walk, waiting for the result just as Azar was.  
"It's…pretty, I like it." Symphony said softly, his highway eyes meeting Azar's own red eyes.  
Mortalia blinked, her eyes dazed by the situation transfixed in front of her.  
What was she seeing? Was it something that she _should_ be seeing?  
She wondered to herself: what did such an understanding between two monsters that were so equally united in similarity and so set back and far apart in differences mean?  
What would this new beginning of united forces mean?  
What would come of it?  
She slide away from the situation, disappearing into her room. She sat on her bed, waiting. Soon after Symphony joined her in the lonely room with a thick, baffled atmosphere.  
"Hey." Symphony said, taking a seat rightfully beside her. His smile was purely tranquil. Mortalia glanced at him, wondering what would come of this choice he had decided upon. What future did it have?  
"Hey." She replied, her voice quiet.  
Symphony fell back dramatically, thumping against the bed and causes it to shake lightly. His blazing orange and burnt orange tinted hair surround him, as if not wanting to escape from him. It laid scattered, spread along Mortalia's purple covers.  
You could tell by his expression that he'd been lost in thought as he stared at the naked ceiling.  
"You saw?" he spoke.  
Mortalia nodded, laying back too. Her hair fell against the bed, falling around her face and shoulders. Her fisted hands clung to her, as if protecting her heart like a shield.  
"I see," Symphony said, throwing an arm over his eyes, blinding himself. "You have such strange siblings. I don't get him. What is it he wants me to see? What could I show him?"  
Mortalia allowed her head to fall over so that she could see Symphony. As she stared, staying completely quiet other than the sounds of her breathing, she watched carefully. A stream of transparent liquid fell, falling down porcelain fair skin. Mortalia observed, watching as he began to break down in front of her. She stayed quiet, giving him the chance to speak.  
She willingly took his hand, showing that she would listen.  
"It's…the curse of everlasting beauty. Being a Demon gifts me with immoral beauty like a vampire is gifted with eternal youth. Being human gives me a rebellious edge in appearance that is thought of as crude and is highly disliked amongst many monsters in our society, yet is so desired because it gives you an alternative demeanor. Being a Siren , however, gives me a rotting innocence that damns my Demon demeanor. Because of this I am thought to be as pretty as a pretty; as beautiful as a butterfly and as cute as a cat. For me…being considered beautiful is a bother. Being attractive in both visual, not to mention in overall exterior, is something that I can _never _allow myself to brag about. Acknowledging this horrid curse is bad enough, but to exploit it to other…this for me, is consider something similar to a weakness. I know that I define my beauty with such daring foreign taste in a sense of fashion, but I do not do that because I wish to pride myself on this curse of everlasting beauty. I do it…because it is just who I am. To dress such a way…it is just me and how I am."  
"And what are your troubles?" Mortalia asked, tearing up herself. Her eyes became moist. "What is it that bothers you so deeply?"  
"I am not proud of this curse. I do not take pleasure it in, but others seem to. They become so very interested, and I am not sure what to do. I am so very intrigued by this manster. But what do I show him? What will he capture on camera if I hide such a face? I want him…to capture something of great worth and valuable essence. I want him to see what he carves to be captured, but I do not know how to show him. I am so insecure…"  
"It will be fine," Mortalia said, allowing herself to cry. She squeezes his hand tightly, so much wanting to express the feeling in her aching heart, but not sure how to. "It is this you he wants to see, this uncertain you, this sickeningly pretty you…it is this you that you show him. Let him see the confusion in your heart…it is this you that he wishes to document. It is this you…that draws such forbidding promise."  
"I want so much to impress this person…" Symphony said through his sobs and sniffles. "I want to gain his approve because he thinks so highly of me when I am nothing but dress-up, make believe, and a face."  
"It will be fine." Mortalia repeated, letting go of Symphony's hand. She tried to wipe her tears, but they refused to stop.  
Somehow, as she laid here, next to someone so much like around, so opposite exactly to her that shared the same twisted beliefs, her tears had become uncontrollable.  
Much like Symphony, it'd been engraved in her mind that she was not worth the compliment of "pretty", much less "cute". But with this person, this beautiful monster that she held so dear in her heart, she hoped truly in her heart that she could defeat such an unkind curse she'd placed on herself.

* * *

"I want to try somethin', if you don't mind, sparkie." Azar said, standing firm behind his camera, a proud grin stretched on his handsome face.  
Symphony nodded timidly, using his left hand to hold onto his right arm. In his eyes was fragileness. "O-Okay…"  
Mortalia stared hard at Symphony, as if she hadn't been able to recognize him. Her expression was black, yet somehow loving. For her seeing Symphony dressed in faded oversized wrinkled jeans that had to be kept up by a skinny black leather belt and an oversized red graphic tee-shirt that had the symbol of a brain on it, outlined in white, and without shoes had been strange in the most attractive of ways. He'd been not in his Goth attire, or dressed in female clothing. His hair had been combed, causing it to look more straight (in between both straight and wavy). For the look of the photo shoot, it'd been smoothed back, laid down behind him.  
Truly, it was odd to see.  
"Just do anything you want, I don't mind even if it's something simple." Azar explained as he prepared himself, positioning himself behind his camera. "It's all the bee's knees to me, kid."  
Symphony nodded, his face reddening. He took a few steps back, bumping against the wall. Embarrassed and somewhat ashamed, he hid his face behind his lengthened hands.  
The sound of a camera snapping caught his attention. His peeked between his thin fingers, staring straight at the camera. It snapped again without alert, giving off a flash.  
"Dinger..." Azar said softly, lost and overwhelmed by the grim ambition and damped passion in Symphony's eyes.  
Truly, it made for an impressive shot, despite the lack of weakened hope that was captured. The dark want to do this made up for it.  
Symphony removed his hands from over his face, bending forward just a bit. He noted that his legs were shaking as he combed through his hair, touching his lips with the back of his other hand. He grew uneasy.  
The snacking of the camera caused him to jump.  
He lifted his eyes to deadly serious Azar. "I…I don't really get this…I mean…"  
Azar snapped another picture, intensity in his eyes lingered about. "Don't worry, you're doing just fine, babe. Keep at it, do whatever you want."  
Symphony gave an obedient nod. He stood from against the white wall, his shoulder stiff. He turned his back to the camera, showing off the curvature in his spine, the dent in his lower back. He hugged his arms around himself, looking back at the camera. His expression was gentle was puzzlement and worry.  
Another snap sounded about the all white room.  
Mortalia blinked along with the snap, as if capturing a photograph herself.  
"Would you be frightened if I asked you to take off the shirt?" Azar asked, leaning his head so that Symphony could see his face.  
Symphony nodded weakly, so badly wanting to impress the green monster. He grabbed the bottom of his sleeveless white tug, tugging it lightly. His hands shook, he froze.  
Another snap sounded. His heart pounded hard in his chest as he slowly lifted the shirt over his head, taking it off. Two more snaps sounded.  
Once the shirt was off, and tossed on the floor near him, Symphony hugged himself dearly, creating an X across his chest.  
A snap sounded.  
"That's perfect, kitten." Azar said, enthused and inspired. He moved along with the camera and its stand, creating new angles. As he snapped more pictures, Symphony stood still.  
Mortalia's face glowed bright red, this having been her first time seeing Symphony's chest – or rather, the chest of any male. Although she'd been just as embarrassed, she did not remove her eyes.  
She examined his framework of curves and a weight so thin that it couldn't be reached by anyone human. She explored the boniness of his anatomy.  
Although he had the figure of a woman, he was quite thin.  
Symphony shut his eyes tightly, sitting on his ankles. He felt sick somehow. What would others think of him? What does Mortalia think of him now?  
He covered his mouth with his hands, for fear of becoming actually sick. His hair fell forward, shielding him. Snaps came from all directions.  
Then,  
"Should we try something new now, sunshine?" Azar said, above him.  
Symphony opened his eyes, standing up at the person standing so god like above him, towering so tall. He gave a nod.  
"S-Sure…"  
"Alright," Azar offer his hand. "We oughta take five anyway while we're at it. You don't look so good."  
Symphony took the offered hand, shaking his head as he stood. "I'm fine…just feeling a bit…exposed."  
"I see." Azar said, his eyes flickering with understanding. He nodded his head to the side, where the bathroom of the garage was. "Follow me, sparkie."  
Symphony nodded, following. Mortalia say, just as she was before on the white couch the room that was now painted all white. She looking around, feeling like something was missing somehow. There was now no car, no things of which needed to be stored, only white. White paint along the walls and white furniture that was located here and there.  
Somehow, it calmed her, creating something like balance.  
She enjoyed the white of the room, thankful for it.  
"What do you think, princess?" Azar asked, catching her attention.  
She looked over at him, where he was standing with Symphony near the bathroom door. Her eyes become intense with unbelief.  
Her mind tangled with a sudden attack of thoughts.  
Symphony stood before her, his freckled face multiple shades of red. He stood before her, now with pointed petite breasts that were perkily sitting up hiding under his wrinkled oversized graphic tee-shirt. What was missing now his faded wrinkled pants and skinny black belt made of leather.  
His hair had been worn in messy low pigtails, his bangs pushed back and tucked behind his red ears. With the removal of his glasses, somehow his freckles that had been sprinkles about all over his body became more visible. Symphony stood uncomfortably, not daring meet Mortalia's eyes, for fear for what she'd say.  
"You…"Mortalia said, her feelings indifferent and complicated. She found herself questioning whether Symphony's sex had been male or female. She questioned whether she'd been attracted to this new him. "…I…I don't…What did you do?"  
"He's wearing a strapless bra that is created to look like real breasts. Oddly enough I was able to find his skin tone, lucky us, right? Surprisingly, he doesn't look so bad a thirty-two A, don't you agree, princess?" Azar answered, going back over to his camera. He encouraged Symphony to take his place in front of with the wave of his hand.  
Mortalia, stunned beyond belief, was unable to fathom the realism of Symphony as a female. She sat, transfixed and engrossed with fascination.  
Somehow she felt moved, in utter awe.  
Symphony, on the other hand, shyly made his way towards the center of the camera's focus, walking with one step at a time slowly.  
Goosebumps appeared on his arms as he took center stage.  
"I-I…just do whatever, right?"  
Azar nodded, wanting to capture this new creature. He couldn't believe the turn out that had occurred, the huge transformation just by adding a pair of breasts. In his mind he wondered: how much would just a being change overtime?  
Symphony lowered to the floor, sitting on his ankles. He wobbled, but put his hand to the floor to catch his balance. The other arm was tucked between his thigh and chest, his hand toying with the collar of the shirt nervously. A snapping sound echoed about the room.  
"Are you sure I can just do anything? I mean…anything at all and it won't be weird or anything."  
"Be my guest, angel. There's nothing weird when it comes to art." Azar answered with a smile.  
Symphony nodded, lowering all the way to the floor. He lifted his knees enough to feel comfortable and put a hand to his chin. The knuckles of his hand touched his lower lip lightly. The other arm was placed resting on his knee, the hand, also in a fist, lightly tapped against his forehead.  
Another snap sounded. When Azar looked up to view Symphony with his own eyes, what he saw was a ghoul, dazed with a soft expression.  
Somehow, it made him blush a bit – which was quite rare for him.  
He returned behind his camera as Symphony began to move.  
Symphony now set with his back leaning away, becoming straight. He pulled one of his knees to his chest, hugged his arms around it. He left his other leg expanded. A light grin found his face.  
A snap sounded. Symphony was thankful for his back commando shorts (that of course could be mistaken as underwear).  
Mortalia, with an expression of raw shock on her face, was greatly amazed.  
How had been this person? Was it the same person she knew?  
Symphony turned sideways, beginning to change into a new position. He left his leg near his chest, tucked the other leg around him and under the leg that had been left up. He let his hands fall comfortable around the leg close to his chest, turning his head so that the camera could capture his expression of gentle, bittersweet confusion. Azar snapped the photograph excited.  
"Dinger! Now you're really getting into it, sparkie. I love this, show me more – show me divine innocence I love to see." Azar said, moving his camera as Symphony began to move once more.  
Symphony turned, making sure that his legs could not be seen. They were tucked behind him, hidden. He reached out his arm, leaning against it. He showed an expression of uncertainty, and yet joy.  
"That's it," Azar captured the picture. "Come'on, superstar, grace me with your beauty."  
Symphony smiled, amused. He turned forward, facing front so that the camera could see all of him once again. He let one leg fall to the white floor, tucking it across so that it hide most of the black commando shorts and what he didn't want seen. The other leg was lifted up somewhat, sitting outward and crossed in front of the other leg. He curved his arm inward, creating something like a backward C covering his chest. His other arm fell freely in front, his head tilted just a bit. On his face was a smile of pure ecstatic delight.  
"Just three more." Azar promised, snapping the photo.  
Symphony, now comfortable, laid on the floor, using the same position he'd used as he laid on Mortalia's bed. His knobby knees were buckled and his arms dramatically over his head.  
There was another snapping sound.  
"Beautiful, doll-face." Azar said, focusing his lens.  
Symphony mimicked his crying pose, only now an arm rested across his torso and the hair that had been shielding his eyes was now toying with blazing orange hair.  
_Snap_.  
Mortalia watched closely as Symphony did his last pose, now lifting to his knees. He faced the camera so that both his backside and front side could be seen, leaving his arms at his side. He gave a direct look of pleased glee as his last expression, his smile one of uncontainable bliss.  
Azar snapped the last picture, and then went over to help Symphony up. Symphony thanked him with a bright smile.  
Symphony was shocked when suddenly Azar hugged me, squeezing him to pieces ever so tightly. "You yourself are such a work of art! You are captures such a sensitive brilliance that is so delicate and loving. It is softly organic in a sense. I admire the beauty of your visual as well; you really have a talent."  
"I do?" Symphony questioned once he was released. "You really think so?"  
"You create such unimaginably brilliance in artwork. I can truly see the connection between artwork and modeling, please, lovely-lady, you've _got _too model for me again." Azar said, his hands tightly holding onto Symphony's with great thrill.  
"Um, I-I…I'd love to? I mean, only if you'll let me" Symphony shrugged a shoulder, his expression questionably delighted.

_**EDIT:**_

_**This is an old Author's Note.**_

_**Feel free to read, IDC.**_

_**Too lazy to delete it…**_

_Author's Note: _

_Yes, yes, I know, I know – I'm highly aware that this was a pretty weird chapter.  
I think I just got bored and randomly decided to do some type of model thing, and since I love Symphony, well, yeah, this was the result. :b xD_


	24. Chapter 23

*{Chapter 23}

_Author's Note: _

_Screw it. I'm going to continue on with this. _

_I really like those last two chapters and will not make it so those two chapters will just be forgotten. So, oh well. This story will continue on to chapter 23._

_Consider those last two chapters an actual part of Mortalia's life and not just random events that didn't occur. _

_I like them, they're staying. That is a final decision._

_I wouldn't have bothered uploading them in the first place if I didn't want them to stay…_

Mortalia, transformed as a dark purple cat, poked her head out of her bedroom doorway. Her dark purple eyes glanced around, observing the hallway. She blinked, taking a step forward. When no one appeared, she continued to walk, her paws taking light steps. Her sensitive cat ears twitched for a moment as a soft footstep sounded in the distance. She quickened her pace, making a run for it.  
But before she knew it,  
"Hold it right there, pretty kitty." Azazel said, picking her up.  
Mortalia's nose wiggle, causing her whispers to dance. Her eyes became big with cute innocence.  
Azazel gave her a look. "Is that suppose to be cute?"  
Mortalia blinked, letting out a quiet meow. It had been soft, soothing.  
Azazel shook the dark purple cat, causing Mortalia to meow loudly. He stopped, staring at her with serious eyes. Although he didn't admit it, the dark purple had been the cutest thing he ever saw. But it was okay, he didn't need to say it, his blushing said it all for him.  
"So, where ya headed?" he asked casually.  
The cat meowed again.  
"Answer me." Azazel said, poking at her wet pink nose.  
Mortalia shook her head, her cat eats waving about. She gave a firm meow, as if refusing. Her dark purple eyes were still, staring at him directly although she'd still been quite dizzy.  
"Answer…me." Azazel said, glaring at her. His face reddened at the cuteness of her cat seriousness.  
She meowed again, her paw feet kicking somewhat, as if trying to escape.  
"Answer. Me." Azazel say loudly, starting to shake her again.  
Before he had the chance, the cat dropped from his hands, morphing into humming bird. She flew away, humming a tune.  
"Get back here!" Azazel said, chasing after her. He tried to catch her as he ran. Somehow, he became disappointed as she continued to fly away.  
Why was that he couldn't catch a single bird – especially one that flew with such a tiny wings?  
He continued to follow behind her as she flew into the garage, still humming a whimsical tune. Azar glanced up when he say his younger twin run into the room, pausing to catch his breath.  
He watched for a moment as his chest lifted and fell. "Hey there, stud. What's shakin'?"  
Azazel gave a look of puzzlement for a moment as his red eyes glanced around. For a moment, his face went solid with confusion.  
"What…is all this exactly?"  
Azar with his hat tipped forward and a chocolate candy bar in his mouth turned his head to see what Azazel was looking at. After a quick scan, he turned his head back to him. "Well I believe it's called a set, but, hey, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong."  
"A set…" Azazel nodded slowly. "…For what exactly?"  
Azar finally took a bite of his chocolate, removing it from his mouth so it no longer sat there. He chewed for a moment and then swallowed. "A set for the model."  
"A model…?" Azazel said, his eyebrows lowering in disbelief.  
"Yep, that's right, champ." Azar said, putting the candy bar back in his mouth. He left it there and went back to playing with his old camera that stood on its stand.  
Azazel, like Mortalia who had now transformed back into her normal self, took a seat on the box provided that'd been covered by a white sheet. "So…this is where you keep running off to?"  
Mortalia nodded, a smile brightening her pretty off-white face. "Yep."  
She continued to eat the extra candy bar she'd found, never taking her eyes off the set. It'd been a very cute set, created right out of the mind of an adolescent girl, who'd been perfectly young and innocent at heart.  
The set stood on a wooden stage that'd been adjusted so that it was big enough to hold only the set. It was like a shoebox that stood on its side. Inside was a wooden floor, painted milk white just like the walls. The top corners of the box were made odd, like they'd been shaved to resemble slanted lines while the roof remained flat.  
On the wooden white floor laid a square rug, frosted pink with a grey outline traced around it. Near that rug was a couch bed, made of white-grey metal that had light pink Christmas lights decorated around it. There was a mattress on it, and the same frosted pink sheets and a fluffy frosted pink blanket. The bed was sloppily made, as if it'd been slept in. On the bed had been multiple pillows. On the left side were two normal sized frosty pink colored pillows. In the back were two smaller other pillows, one pale orange and the other frosty pink with thin white lines. There was another small pillow at the right corner; it'd been frosty pink with darker pink dots. Next to that pillow, at the foot of the bed was a small white pillow; in front of it was a pale orange pillow even smaller than the white one. Next to those pillow was a frosty pink pillow, smaller than the white pillow, but bigger than the orange one. Behind those pillows, resting against the grey-white metal was a light pink towel-dress. On the other side of the dress-towel had been a white bedroom table with a single drawer and legs that were crossed like an X. Facing it was a white director's chair with the word _director _written in pink and the same crossed X legs. They, however, had been wooden. Resting on the white director's chair was pillow that was frosted pink with white dots. Surrounding the bedroom table and director's chair was silver heels, hot pink pumps, glossy black flats, and white wedges. Sitting on top of the white bedroom table was a red suitcase that'd been open. Inside was a mirror with three light buds on each side. Inside of the suitcase all kinds of makeup could be seen. Strays, nail polishes, nail polish remover, lipsticks, and et cetera. Covering half the mirror was a white-pink ballet dress with a dramatic lacy tutu, thin straps, and a heart neckline that hung from the top wooden shelf. On the second wooden shelf were two smaller suitcases. On was pink, the other blue, and on top of the pink one were two stuffed animals. They were bunnies, one lavender and the other pale pink. On the top shelf were bottles of perfumes that could still be reached if someone was standing. On the opposite side of the bedroom setting was another shelf that was as high as the top shelf. It stored mint green boxes, three to count and a framed photo of a woman along with a fancy signed autograph. Below that was a silver nail that held light brown ballet shoes and another white bedroom table. On it was a stack of magazines and a sky blue makeup bag. Near the white table had been a bag that was leaned forward enough so that you could see what was inside. It was white with hot pink streaks going across and light pink dots. It had been light brown inside and carried multiple stuffed animals. Next to the bag, sitting in front of the left corner of the bed were a stack of books. Under the bed were two wide light pink boxes and at the left corner of the rug was an open diary, along with a hot pink inked pen. Behind the bed was a large triangle shaped mirror.  
"This is one seriously ghouly set…" Azazel mumbled, his face warm pink. Somehow, he felt he'd been invading his sister's room.  
"But its…pretty." Mortalia said, admiring Azar's eye for set décor.  
Azazel shrugged. "I guess. But I wonder how he did it, you know?"  
"College," Mortalia replied, her voice a bit distant as she continued to stare at the set.  
"Huh?"  
Mortalia blinked, trying to remember the story. "It was done by one of his college friends – well, he built the wooden box thing that's holding all this stuff. He said Azar could use it when he needed set changing and didn't want to make a mess of things. Thoughtful, don't you think?"  
"Yeah, that's pretty cool actually." Azazel nodded with agreement. He remembered Azar's old friend. He was always into architecture and such. Azar knew him quite well, apparently well enough to ask him of such a favor.  
Azazel stared at his older twin for a moment. They were both nineteen and in their freshmen year of college, making them two years older than Mortalia. And yet, they'd been so very different and done so many different things with their lives.  
Azazel sighed loudly, blushing with awe. His brother had accomplished so many things at such a young age. He was coming up in the world as an aspiring photographer. Azazel knew, because he checked his older brother's blog every few weeks.  
His blog was popular, famous because of the shots he took of people, of things. Of people and things, people doing things in action. He just seemed to take photographs of life itself, humanity being his main focus.  
It was a popular blog, known for its greatness and the ever so handsome owner who ran the blog. It was overall an impressive blog, looked at by even some famous Normies.  
Really, Azar was an impressive man with impressive talents.  
"Hey big bro," Mortalia said, poking at Azazel's arm.  
He snapped back into reality, blinking his eyes over to her. "Huh?"  
Mortalia turned her head to him, looking up at him. She held onto his shirt sleeve, offering the candy bar she'd been eating. "Want some?"  
Azazel looked down at the small hand gripping tightly onto his shirt and back to the small hand's owner. His face was blank with tranquility, his lips parted with content. Somehow he was happy with that little hand holding onto him, as if someone looked up to _him _and depended on _him_.  
He blinked for a moment, dazed.  
And then he made a face of pretend disgust. "Gross, why would I eat off of you?"  
"I dunno." Mortalia shrugged, turning her head forward. She lowered her head, staring at the floor. As Azazel looked away with a _humph_, she blinked, a comfortable smile finding her face.  
She was happy she could help.  
"Come on, doll! We've got to get started." Azar called, his chocolate candy bar still in his mouth. Mortalia giggled. It reminded her of a Normie gangster, wearing some classy suit with a cigar in his mouth.  
"Coming," Symphony called, running from the bathroom of white. He closed the door, jogging over to Azar.  
Mortalia's eyes widened at the sight of him, her hand now gripping just a bit tighter to Azazel's shirt for support. "He looks so…"  
"Whoa, _that's _your boyfriend?" Azazel said, observing Symphony.  
He's been just your average ghoul, with a cute outfit and makeup and et cetera. Only, he just seemed to sell the look a little better.  
With his abnormal curves and thin structure that made up his pin-up girl shape and his somewhat tall height that made him taller than Mortalia (and yet shorter than Azar), he was dressed like a true ghoul. Wearing cotton pink short-shorts, he revealed tantalizing leggy legs and skinny ankles. His Barbie feet, instead of being exposed like last time, were now sheltered by tower tall glitter hot pink pumps; platform, rounded at the toe, and crazy thin heels. The shirt he wore, that was now fitting and comfortably sized normally, was bubblegum pink with a low neck hem that revealed slight breast cleavage and spaghetti straps. In his ears were hot pink glitter star stud earrings and missing from his face were his glasses. His blazing orange with its burnt orange accents was wavy, wrinkled and free from intense teasing that increased its volume. Holding down his wrinkled flirtatious cut bangs was a cow print headband with a cow print ribbon. On his well-filled nails was fuchsia pink nail polish.  
When he spotted Mortalia from the corner of his eye, he turned, preparing to run towards her and ignoring Azar. Once he was close enough, he took her into his arms, hugging her tightly. He rested his chain to her shoulder.  
"Tallie, I'm happy you came to see me model again!"  
Mortalia pat his back with her free hand, a nervous smile on her face. Somehow it felt like she was hugging a stranger; a stranger she was familiar with, but didn't know. "Um, yeah. You asked me to, didn't you?"  
"Well, yeah," Symphony stood straight now, showing he had complete balance in his pumps as he put a hand to his hip. "But I wasn't sure if you'd actually come. And hey, I see you brought your other brother. Hey. It was Azazel, right?"  
"Uh, sure, yeah, something like that…" Azazel said, looking up at Symphony with unsure eyes. His face blushed to a bright red, as if somehow he'd now not only invaded his sister's room, but walked in on her with her best friend. He stared in wonderment at his older twin's creation.  
"I, um, like your makeup." Mortalia said softly with a crooked smile. She felt shy in the face of the ghoul Symphony.  
"My makeup?" Symphony said, looking at her blankly for a moment. And then there was a small clap. "Ah, I remember! I totally forgot I had any on."  
"She's right…it's…nice." Azazel said, fond of the way the makeup seemed to fit Symphony's feminine face. He'd been wearing all pink makeup: fuchsia pink lipstick with clear gloss, cotton candy pink blush that began somewhere near the cheeks and went past the eyebrows, and bubblegum pink eye shadow that surrounded the eyes.  
"Thanks Tallie, and you too, hon. Big bro over there did it." Symphony said, folding his arms, referring to Azar.  
"You did really awesomely!" Mortalia shouted, putting her hands on the sides of her mouth. When she caught Azar's attention, her face turned instantly red. She felt embarrassed, not really sure why she sudden shouted.  
Azazel, with a look of fright, irritation and embarrassment from being her brother due to her sudden alarming shout, suddenly wanted to give her a slap to the head. When he did, Mortalia hung her head, letting it fall shamefully. "You big idiot, don't do weird things."  
"Sorry." She said quietly, still embarrassed.  
Symphony let out a soft giggle. "You guys get along well. Anyway, got to go. Talk to you later."  
"Ah, sure." Azazel blinked his eyes to Symphony, giving an awkward wave as he ran towards Azar, waving to them.  
Mortalia lifted her head slightly, her face red and lips pressed tightly together. Still squeezing onto the sleeve of Azazel's shirt, her eyes narrowed.  
"What's wrong with you?" Azazel said, folding his arms. He closed his eyes, prepared to listen honestly. He jumped when Mortalia made an odd noise. With her cheeks puffed, her eyes became distant. Azazel gave her head another slap, just because she frightened him once again. She turned her blank face to him, blinked.  
"I did something stupid…"  
Azazel sighed, his shoulders raising and falling. He glanced at the hand still holding onto his sleeve. "Well…it should be fine, right? Monsters like us make mistakes and do stupid things all the time."  
"Yeah, but when you do something stupid in front the one you like…" Mortalia mumbled, not finishing her sentence.  
"I'm sure he thinks you're stupid-ness is cute. That…um, pink and pretty manster…adore you. So don't worry like that, it makes your face ugly." Azazel said quietly, looking away.  
Mortalia looked at him, smiled softly. "You think so?"  
"I know so, I'm the middle-oldest – don't question me." Azazel said through puckered lips.  
Mortalia let out a loud laugh, laughing at his logic. "What kind of reasoning is that? Just because you're the oldest…"  
"Shut up," Azazel said, a vain appearing on his forehead. Somehow his precious little sister had become annoying. "My reasoning is the best reasoning."  
"And why is that?" Mortalia asked, trying to hold back her laughter with a small smile.  
Azazel huffed, his nostrils flaring. He slapped his hands down to his knees dramatically. "Because I said so."  
With that said, Mortalia burst into uncontrollable giggles, laughing historically. Finally she let go of his sleeve, but only because she needed to hold her sides. She continued to laugh, experiencing that fuzzy and warm 'at home' feeling. Azazel smiled warmly, letting his hand fall to his little sister's head of green. He pet her lightly, gently.  
He may have been not use to having a little sister, but he certainly liked the idea of having one now.  
"Did you see that? They think I look pretty." Symphony said, pleased as he bugged Azar. Azar continued to fix the tall set lights, his chocolate bar still in his hand.  
Once he was done, he stood, taking a bite. He chewed, swallowed. "Yeah, yeah, that's grand and all, babe. Now get of here, you bother me – and make it snappy."  
Symphony giggled, jogging away. He jogged a few steps, his hot pink glitter heels creating clicking sound. He stepped on set, spun on his heels, and fell against the bed-couch dramatically, letting his arms spread so that the cover could explode around him. He took a deep breath, breathed in the sweet fruit scent of the set.  
Suddenly, he found himself feeling more like a ghoul. He embraced the burst of ghouly-ness, turning over on the bed-couch.  
He crossed his legs, put up his elbows so that he could rested his jaw to his hands.  
"Hey, lovely baby, what do you think you're doing?" Azar said, going over to his camera. He clicked the camera off its stand, walking closer towards the set. When he felt he was close enough, he got down on one knee. He put the camera in front of him, positioning himself.  
"We ready to go?" Symphony called from on set.  
A snap served as his answer. With a satisfied grin Azar questioned:  
"Tell me pretty-lady, you ready to wig out?"  
"You got it, stud." Symphony answered teasingly with a playful sweet smile and gentle giggle.  
His eyes became intense with fierce professionalism and enjoyment.  
Azar, liking the look in his eyes, smiled coolly like a photographer that worked well with the model he was assigned to. "Alright then, you've been given permission to go wild. Show me something I can work with, teddie."  
"Teddie?" Symphony questioned, lifting to his knees on the bed. He faced the large triangle the mirror, meeting Azar's eyes fiercely.  
"Short for teddy bear," Azar said, standing and zooming in the camera's focus. He snapped another picture just as Symphony teased his hair. "Now don't give it another thought."  
"Alright cool cat, you're the boss." Symphony said, getting into another pose. As the camera snapped another photograph, he found himself beginning to love the idea of being a model.

"Alright, kitty cat, now our theme is: Pretty Soul for a Pink Valentine and, because good ghouls are bad ghouls that haven't been caught, you're motivation is a lovely lady with bad taste in bad boys – only now you're gonna be the bad boy, got it, doll?" Azar explained as he dug through the pile of Symphony's original clothes near the garage's bathroom door.  
"Got it," Symphony said from the other side of the door. "A bad boy that turned a good ghoul bad."  
"You were never good to begin with," Azar chuckled, standing straight.  
Symphony opened the door, grabbing his glasses that Azar had been holding up for him. "Works for me."  
Mortalia blushed bright red at the sight of her boyfriend, now once again in his male form. He'd been wearing a loose cow print shirt with a very low neck hem, glitter hot pink pants, half leather jacket, and black leather cowboy boots. Somehow, in Mortalia's eyes, he looked something like sexy.  
"Your boyfriend must really like dress-up to look that good in the clothes he wears." Azazel stated, lifting a black eyebrow. Mortalia gave his arm a good slug as she stared at Symphony lovingly.  
"Don't about the guy I'm in love with..." She said, her smile warm.

"_But I said something nice…" Azazel glared at her, rubbing his now sore arm. _

_Author's Note:  
LOL, hey guys! I felt so super happy writing this chapter. (Not really sure why though ^^;)  
Hope you guys liked it as much as I did-3_


	25. Chapter 24

*{Chapter 24}

Symphony was wearing clingy slim black tights that stopped at the ankles, a rayon orange button up with two front pockets and the sleeves rolled up, and glossy black heels with a single ankle strap. His hair had been tied low on the side, his bangs swept to the same side.  
As he walked down the hall with Mortalia, who'd been dressed in a dark purple pants suit with tall pointy black heels and a silk black shirt along with black pearl earrings and her hair tied in a polish neat bun, a loving tender smile found his face.  
"You know something, we look like a middle aged married couple." He chuckled lightly.  
Mortalia turned her head to him, giving his hand a squeeze as she tucked a piece of green hair behind her grey-white ear. She smiled at him softly. "Do we? Sounds like a good plan to me. What are our jobs?"  
"Well," Symphony thought for a moment. "You're dressed in a pants suit, so maybe you're like a lawyer or something?"  
"Ew," Mortalia frowned, shaking her head. "I don't want to be a lawyer. Can't I be…I don't know…maybe something likeee…oh, what if I be a travel agent? Or maybe something like a professional stylist?"  
"I can see it now," Symphony stopped, waving his other hand over their heads. "Mortalia Roth-Logan: Stylist to the Stars."  
Mortalia giggled. "Or how about Mortalia _Phantomhive_: Stylist to…her supermodel drag queen of a husband?"  
Symphony pretended to think for a moment, his face blushing summer pink. When Mortalia bumped her arm against his, he glanced back over to her. "Alright, I can agree to that."  
"But before we marry, we better get Picture Day over with." Symphony said with a playful grin.  
"Sounds good to me," Mortalia gave a casual shrug. "But first: you may want to fix your bra."  
Symphony puckered his lips, his eyes blinking down at his bra that's been hidden behind his orange rayon button-up. His expression was a question mark. "Oh wow. How long have I been walking around like this?"  
"Since we met at the steps." Mortalia said, trying not to laugh.  
"And you said nothing?" Symphony asked, adjusting his a-cup strapless bra as he looked at Mortalia with an expression of blankness.  
"Sorry," she shrugged again. "Still have to get use to the ghoul you. She's a bit different from the male you."  
"I knew I was wearing too clothed…" Symphony mumbled.  
Mortalia laughed, amused with delight.  
He would never change.

"Big brother Symphony!" Ashleigh called, running towards the table of GSA (who oddly enough ate lunch together regularly).  
"Is someone calling me?" Symphony said, turning his head her way.  
Ashleigh came to a stop in front of him, pausing a moment to breath. She bended forward, putting her hands to her knees. She lowered her head, gulping down air. "Big…brother…I…"  
You…?" Symphony questioned.  
"I…" Ashleigh said, lifting her head. She lifted a red brow. "Why are wearing makeup?"  
Symphony blinked, his expression lost. "It's just gloss and peach blush. Is that what you were going to say? If so, you didn't have to run. I still have lunch to eat, I was going to be here a while…"  
"No," Ashleigh waved his words away. "What I was going to say was: where is Mommy Mortalia?"  
"Bathroom, changing." Symphony shrugged, turning back to his strawberry Greek Yogurt. He took a bite, encouraging Ashleigh to sit.  
She did, putting on leg under the table and leaving the other leg out so that she could directly face Symphony. "Oh. Well, I wanted to ask her something…it was pretty important too."  
"Something pretty important like what?" Symphony glanced over to the young Normie ghoul. She lowered her eyes, her face reddening.  
"It's a _ghoul_ thing…" she mumbled, poking at soft brown bench.  
Symphony mimicked her sitting position, resting a hand on her knee. When she looked up at him, he offered a trusting smile. "I'm a ghoul, aren't I? Or…I'm dressed like one at least, right?"  
"Well, yeah, I guess." Ashleigh said through puckered lips, looking away.  
_Was that the right answer? _  
Symphony leaned forward, putting his forehead to hers. He put a hand to her chin, smiling like a mean overly protective big sister, who in turn loved and cherished her younger sister but was mean to her by choice.  
"So, that means…you can ask me, can't you? Or…maybe not?"  
Ashleigh's face turned bright red as she blinked, Symphony's eyes boring into hers. "Ask…you? You mean I can?"  
Symphony squeezed her chin. "Of course, pet. Besides: since when were you and _my ghoulfriend _so close?"  
"Um…is this what they call jealousy?" Ashleigh asked worriedly, forcing a laugh. "If so: I'm afraid."  
"And you should be." Symphony glared lovingly at the girl.  
"Stop that," Mortalia said, suddenly appearing. She slapped Symphony's hand away from Ashleigh. "Don't go being mean to our little monster."  
"Mommy," Ashleigh said, instantly wrapping her arms around Mortalia. She hugged herself to her now more rounder hip. "I was waiting for you!"  
"Yes, I know you were, Leigha." Mortalia said, petting her now shoulder length hair of red.  
"No fair," Symphony said, pressing his hand lightly to his cheek. "You're suppose to give all your love and affection to _me_."  
"Don't be clingy, dearest." Mortalia said with a crooked grin.  
"Anyway," Ashleigh tugged at her black t-shirt. "Back to me?"  
"Sure, hun. What did you want to ask?"  
"Um…" Ashleigh thought, blinking. "Ummm….Why are you dressed like a boy?"  
"Ghoulfriend's got a point, love." Symphony said, lifting a brown eyebrow.  
Mortalia glanced down at her black t-shirt, baggy denim jeans, and pink leopard converse that she'd 'barrowed' from Symphony's Valentine shoot.  
"Am I dressed like a boy?" she asked, clueless.  
"Uh, _duh_." Symphony said, giving her an up-and-down look.  
Mortalia shrugged. "Well, why does it matter?"  
"Because future stylists _don't _dress in such fashion…now do they?" Symphony said, standing. In that same moment, he grabbed Mortalia's black t-shirt, ripping it into a half shirt. Her now formed slender curves were revealed, out in the open for all to see.  
Mortalia stumbled back, everything going in slow motion out of shock when she realized what had just occurred. Her hair flew around her, falling back to her shoulders when she stopped. She glanced at the green mess of curls, noticing that Symphony had somehow managed to pull off her black scrunchie. "What just…?"  
Symphony, with his dark playful eyes glowing red and pink, smiled at Mortalia amusedly. In his hands swayed a black scrunchie. "Don't you want to know what it feels like?"  
Mortalia blinked, not expecting his demon side to come out to play. "What do you mean?"  
Symphony dug around in his leather black purse that's been sitting on the table, searching. His eyes never felt Mortalia for a second. "What do I mean? Well…."  
"Well?" Mortalia questioned, a bit frightened.  
"Well…" Symphony said, suddenly behind her, causing Mortalia to jump. The table of GSA froze with shock as Symphony snaked a hand up her arm. His hand rubbed over Mortalia's shoulder, going up her neck and finding her chin. He took hold of it tightly, making sure her head didn't move. He pressed her cheeks forward, causing her lips to pucker. With his other hand he smoothed on pale pink lipstick. Mortalia didn't move, for fear of messing up his process. He smoothed on three layers of lipstick, putting his creamy peach lips inches from her ear. "Isn't it fun being a ghoul? You should _look _like one more often…showoff that pretty side of yours that you try to hide."  
Before Mortalia could speak and try to calm Symphony's jealousy of the opposite sex, a snapping noise sounded about the creepateria. Everyone's focus now transferred over to Azar, who was coolly holding up his digital camera. A grin was placed on his handsome mint face.  
"You two sweets are just too much," he said, stepping forward and heading towards them. "Really, you're both just too much to take."  
"Sweets?" Symphony asked, his eyes still glowing red and pink.  
"'Cause you're both just as sweet as sugar, superstar." He said, stopping in front of them. "You know something: this thing's got _perfect _zoom."  
Mortalia lifted a dark purple eyebrow. What did perfect zoom matter at a time like this while they were in the middle of a crisis?"  
"Um…a little help here?"  
"Sure, but before that…" Azar said, taking Mortalia's arm. He pulled her from Symphony clutches, and threw her right back again.  
Symphony caught her, stumbling back a step or two. He glared at the photographer with intensity. "What do you think you're doing?"  
Azar answered by taking another picture. "That's what I like to see. Such aggressiveness…How dare you not show it only in front of me and my camera?"  
Symphony blinked, his eyes now going back to their highway colors. "What now?"  
"Never mind, pretty lady." Azar flashed a relaxed grin.  
Mortalia gave him a look. "God you're weird…and thanks for _help_."  
"Welcome." Azar replied, shooting a hand-gun her way.  
Mortalia sighed. "Enough…I need a break already."  
Symphony looked at her with puzzlement as she escaped from him, releasing their hand holding from when Symphony had caught her. She walked towards the lunch line, Ashleigh chasing behind her.  
"Maybe possibly I went overboard?" Symphony said with confusion.  
"Maybe?" Jarr'ah said from the table.  
"Possibly?" Holt replied after.  
"I just wanted her to be a ghoul and look pretty…ghouls should always look pretty…right?" Symphony mumbled, his face red.  
"Would you be able to handle your beauty if you _had _been born a ghoul?" Azar asked in a soft whisper, resting a hand to Symphony's shoulder.  
Symphony lowered his eyes, recalling his conversation with Mortalia as they cried lying on her bed. He blinked. "Well…_boys_ shouldn't be _beautiful_."  
A crafty smile appeared on Azar's face, his eyes narrowed and intense with delighted trickery. "Well that's what pretty boys are for, right? Don't worry about it…you'll become the mind eye's greatest of illusions. So just don't worry…stay stuck between genders and trapped as one sex. Stay as confused as you want, you'll be able to benefit from it one day."  
Symphony glanced up at the green manster leaning against him. His eyes became distant for a moment.  
For a moment or so he began to wonder:  
What thoughts went through this manster's head? What type of life did he live?  
And more importantly: What fed his fascination about this gender lost manster? What would he do this such hungry fascination and what statement did he want to make?


	26. Chapter 25

*{Chapter 25}

"How long are you planning to stay dressed like that? You're photo shoot was over, like, twenty minutes ago, wasn't it?" Azazel said, his green face once again intense pink.  
"You sure are talking a lot, aren't you?" Symphony said, glaring at the television from the other side of the couch. He randomly pressed buttons on the control his was holding, becoming frustrated.  
"Well…" Azazel began, his eyes lowering to Symphony's petite A breasts that had been revealed by his cheetah print Spice Ghoul's custom Mel B top with the long draping back and only one button to count that purposely showed Symphony's white freckled stomach. "I don't know. You're kind of freaking me out…or whatever."  
Symphony, livid that he was losing at video games to someone who wasn't even paying attention to the screen, suddenly threw the control to the floor. His head jerked to the side, his glare now fixed on Azazel.  
"That's not even the truth now _is _it?"  
"Say what?" Azazel asked, move leaning away since Symphony was leaning forward. When his eyes lifted to Symphony's face and fell again, he blushed bright red.  
Symphony silently growled at him, ready to flip over the whole couch. "The _truth _is actually that you're _attracted _to me, _right_?"  
"No…" Azazel said, trying his best to act normal. He turned away, putting his back against the couch. He lifted his leg, putting his feet on the edge of the couch so that his leg casual rested against the arm. As he restarted the fighting game they'd been playing, still his eyes remained on the pair of fake breasts. And still his face remained red.  
"_You _are _seriously _pissing me _off_." Symphony said, his dark smile twitching. "Whatever," Azazel shrugged a shoulder, combing through his laid back purple hair. "Just go and get the control so you can pick your character and we can start the game already."  
"_Fine_." Symphony stood, walking over to the Tombstation. With a sigh he leant down, reaching for the black controller. Azazel watched, wondering to himself why he'd been staring. He leaned his head slowly to the side just as Symphony bended down, showing off a sexy pair of leggy legs and cheetah print short-shorts along with cheetah print platform boots.  
"Hey boys, thought I'd make you some Spooky Spirit cookies, they're white and shaped perfectly like ghosts." Mortalia said, entering the room with a tray of steamed cookies.  
Azazel jumped, his head flashing around. With his eyes wide and face red, he stared at Mortalia. "H-Hey t-there, sis."  
"What's wrong, did I scare you again?" Mortalia asked with a puzzled smile.  
"U-Um, no, I was just…" Azazel tried to make up an excuse, swallowing the lump in his throat.  
"Looking the _wrong_ way?" Symphony said, now facing him and in the way of the TV. In his hand was the black controller that he gripped firmly with rage. His glare had been cold with unforgiveness.  
"Uh…yeah, that's it." Azazel looked away coyly.  
Somehow he was thankful that Mortalia didn't walk around this way…  
Mortalia sat the tray of cookies on the wooden table next to the couch, taking the seat next to Azazel. "So," she said with a bright smile. "What are you manster's playing?"  
Symphony sighed as he took his seat, stealing a cookie from one of the trays. The freshly baking heat didn't seem to affect him.  
Azazel focused on the TV. "It's a fighting game…"  
"Sounded like fun." Mortalia said, leaning over just a bit. She looked up at Symphony, just as she was taking a bit of his cookie.  
The manster never took his eyes from the screen. After he stopped to pause to give a reaction from Mortalia eating half of his ghost's head, he began to chew again. He then proceed to turn to her, giving her a solid look of irritation. "Yes my pretty ghoulfriend, it _is _fun."  
Mortalia nodded with understanding as he pitched her nose, pulling it up so that he could open her mouth. He placed the cookie in her mouth and then closed her mouth. She continued to eat with delight from the warmth of her homemade cookies. "Can I play?"  
"You can play the winner." Azazel said, glancing at the couple as the voice of the announcer on the video game announced the two play's character names and so on. He wondered what they were like in private.  
"Coolio." Mortalia turned to him, still eating. On her face were crumbs and in her eyes was the innocence of youth.  
Azazel looked back to the screen, refusing to do the cute elderly big brother thing and wipe off the crumbs. Mortalia wasn't _that _young.  
"Whatever, kid. And…wipe your face, you look stupid."  
"Whoops," Mortalia said, wiping her face lazily with the sleeve of her black shirt. "My bad."  
When she smiled up at Azazel with a wide grin that was irreplaceably adorable, his eyebrow twitched. What made her so cute? Was it because she was his little sister? Well still, he refused to acknowledge her cuteness with the older brother's loving chuckle.  
He let out a dry sigh, standing. He dropped his black controller to her lap. "Screw it, just play my turn."  
"Yes, _finally _I get to play someone _other _than _you_." Symphony cheered, a sneaky grin stretched on his face as he gave his full attention to the screen.  
"Whatever dude, I just want some cookies." Azazel said, walking around the couch. He went over to the tray, stole a cookie or two.  
Symphony turned to him, sticking his tongue out. He gave him an official thumbs-down. "Whatever loser, accept your forfeit."  
"Never, dude." Azazel said, observing the game as he snacked on a few cookies that were freshly made, warm, and made with love. "And good cookies, by the way."  
"Thanks," Mortalia said, smiling up at him as she turned.  
When his expression stayed blank and he continued to munch on cookies, she turned back around. As the game started, somehow she quickly advanced in skill and before she knew it, had the upper hand against Symphony.  
"_So. Not. Cool._" Symphony said, standing. He let the controller slip from his hand, bitterly accepting his defeat. He walked away from the scene, going into the dining room.  
"Wow, who knew he'd take it so hard?" Azazel said, staring in the direction of the dining room. He wondered if the manster had truly been angry.  
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm no sore loser." Symphony said, returning. In one hand was a jug of milk, in the other was two cup. Nesting between his breasts and elbow was a third cup. "Now let's have milk and cookies."


	27. Chapter 26

*{Chapter 26}

_Author's Note: _

_CAUTION.  
Fake Nudity and Cursing._

_That is all._

"Define your gender existence."  
"Androgynous."  
"And the meaning of your gender existence?"  
"To not identify between the gender expectations ascribed by society to males and females. An individual that is indistinguishably neither feminine nor masculine. They fit properly between pink and blue expectations and respond by riding themselves from such limits on sexes."  
"And…"  
"Some have male and female genitalia, others don't."  
"I see. That was well explained. And the restrictions?"  
"We are referred to as Ze/Hir (_*sounds like hear_), and Hirs. These are gender neutral pronouns that replace he, him, his as well as she, her, and hers.

The singular "they" can also be used as a gender neutral pronoun, and makes a good filler if you're unsure of what pronouns someone prefers."  
"I see. And so…now it begins?"  
Symphony lowered his head, shutting his eyes. "I'm ready to begin the photo shoot if you are."  
"Sounds like a plan to me," Azar gave a confident grin. "But first: if you'll allow a headshot of your profile?"  
"I'd be honored." Symphony's eyes opened halfway.  
Azar zoomed in his camera; put it up to his face. He stared at eyes glaring passionately at him with a direct fierceness that was unmasked. He inhaled the scent of intense desire, embracing the harsh coldness about the room.  
With the press of his finger, he snapped the picture of deadly serious eyes, one pink and one blue.  
For a moment the room remained still, the atmosphere stiff with deep passion. So stiff in fact that it was enough to strangle a guy by hardening the oxygen he breathed.  
Azar grinned darkly, lowering the camera as his posture straightened. "And yourself? …May I?"  
Mortalia gave a nod, her eyes boring into his. "You may."  
Azar, with a delighted sharp grin on his face, lifted his camera. With a click, he'd captured the perfect photo of a pair of pink eyes. He used the features given, zooming out. Next he captured a ghoul, a ghoul with a pair of grave pink eyes and a short chic hairstyle that'd been preferable dark purple.  
"That's perfect…" he mumbled aloud, ecstatic.  
He shifted his focus to the pink and blue eyed Symphony with now half shaved head. With his navy blue hair falling only on his right side, he gave off a sense of mystery. "Now…tell me: what is the meaning of your current outer form? Explain your façade to me."  
Symphony blinked his pink and blue eyes, as serious as a heart. "Mansters have shaved heads, but pink is only for ghouls. And while blue is only meant for mansters, ghouls should have only long hair so that they can be recognized as ghouls. Dresses are a ghoul's most known symbol – but only the purest of good ghouls wear long dresses. Only the purest of good ghouls wear pretty panties and high heels, while also keeping their breasts sheltered by bras.These are the boundaries for both sexes, the limitations that make up monsters of my kind. _These _are the boundaries that make up my outer form, nor my façade."  
"Yes…that's perfect. And you?" Azar said, darting his eyes hungrily to Mortalia, his eyes now glowing a loud red.  
Mortalia's face remained as hard as Symphony's. She opened her blue painted lips, preparing to speak. "Hairstyle so short cannot be accepted. Pink is preferred, and ties are only meant for mansters. Boxers on ghouls cannot be accepted, and ghouls are not allowed to wear tuxes. This is _neither _my outer form _nor_ current façade…it represents the expectations of gender, the natural order that society has come accustomed to."  
"And…are you two ready?" Azar said quietly, backing away from the two monsters. He snapped two more pictures.  
The first of the manster with his one pink and one blue eye creating a double standard and half of is navy blue hair shaved. The picture had been of not only him, but the misconception attached to his skin; of the transparent nude peach baby doll baby showering over him and of the pretty pink panties with the lighter pink lace trimming. Of the black high heels he wore, and the perky petite breasts that were left viewed for the public.  
The second was of the ghoul with her pink eyes and shortened chic haircut, of her blue lips and attire. She was dressed in a black tuxedo, absent of a shirt with a tie and black high heels. Under her black slacks had been boxers, although that fact had yet to be revealed.  
"We are prepared." The two monsters answered, perfectly in sync.  
Azar let out a grim chuckle, his smile wide and sinister. "Alright then, let's sling some mug."  
Symphony stepped towards Mortalia. She lifted her hand, putting his just as he offered. As multiple cameras that had been set up before hand in front of them began to snap and create multiple flashes, they joined, untied. Mortalia kept Symphony close to her, embracing him just as a male would a female. She brought her lips to his, staining him with blue lipstick.  
Their intense eyes lifted to one of the cameras, gave the expression of grim seduction and 'gender fucking', otherwise known as practicing the combination of stereotypical gender appearances or mannerisms, resulting in a challenge to society.  
"Let's call this…our Gender Revolution." Azar said darkly, capturing new angles that appealed to the mind's eyes in a whole new way.


	28. Chapter 27

*{Chapter 27}

"I almost didn't recognize you."  
Symphony stopped, not daring to walk any further. He lowered his eyes, his face dramatic red. "Because of the breasts? Well don't worry: they won't become an everyday thing."  
A dark smile found Twig's face. "I was talking about your hair."  
Symphony turned his head to the side, acknowledging Twig's presence. He hid behind his shoulder, his eyes still lowered. "Let's just be thankful my hair grows back fast. Once it's long again, you'll have no trouble knowing who I am, and then, you'll have no trouble staying away."  
Twig stalked closer to Symphony, drawing near. Symphony turned his head forward, trying to ignore his familiar attractive aroma.  
"Now why would I stay away? We're friends, aren't we?"  
"Just say what you want and go." Symphony said bitterly, glaring at the ground. Around them the atmosphere grew still, the wind violently passed them.  
"Even if we're not friends…we should be…because friends can make-out." Twig teased, his mouth inches from Symphony's ear. He snaked a hand up his neck, messaging the back of his head. Symphony, although he strongly didn't want to, leaned his head back in enjoyment. Twig studied his reaction, smiling pleased.  
Symphony closed his eyes a moment, taking a deep breath. For a moment he allowed himself to feel pleasure, his hands clenched into fists tightly. His face heated to a deeper red – why did he have to like Twig so much?  
He spun around, releasing himself. Although his face was strictly red, he tried his best to make a manly expression. His eyes were cold with intensity. "I _never _want to your friend."  
"But…don't you?" Twig said, taking a step closer. He reached for Symphony's purple v-neck shirt, toyed with the five buttons at the top. He unbuttoned the first one with two fingers, moving on to the second one.  
He continued to unbutton Symphony's shirt so very slowly.  
Symphony, staring down at Twig's hand, tried to take another deep breath, but in turn had gone breathless. He watched, as if in a trace.  
"I..I, um…no, I don't…I mean…"  
"Don't you want to know what it would feel like?" Twig said, giving a sly grin as he flickered his eyes up to Symphony. When Symphony didn't answer, a drop of sweat falling from his forehead, Twig rested a hand to his shoulder.  
Symphony shut his eyes tightly as Twig's other hand tugged on his hair, adjusting his head. The lips that had smashed against his were soft. He sucked in his stomach, feeling guilty for kissing Twig back.  
The sound of his speeding heartbeat grew loud in his ears.  
_What am I doing?  
_He pushed away, fumbling back just a bit. He attempting to breath, his breathing now unsteady and shaky. He put a hand to now dizzy head.  
Why was the affect always the same? Leaving his to feel dizzy and light headed…  
"I said that I…didn't…"  
Twig smile was grim with pure satisfaction. "That's alright then, don't be my friend. Maybe _she _will, after all, she's passive – maybe she'll be what I'm looking for."  
Symphony's eyes darted to Mortalia, who'd been in the parking lot behind the school, awaiting his company so that they could leave. Although she'd been talking to Jarr'ah, her eyes were searching for him.  
He was thankful that the school's wide length hid him.  
Symphony's highway eyes blinked back to Twig. "Leave her out of this."  
"So you'll take her place instead?" Twig said softly.  
Symphony looked away, lowering his eyes. "No, I never said…"  
Twig, being the impatient Twig he was, reached out his arm. His hand found the collar of a passerby, pulled him forward. In that moment his lips found the lips of Jackson.  
Symphony, his eyes widened, hadn't noticed he'd taken a step forward. His face was one of shock.  
Twig studied this reaction, pushing Jackson away. With the jealous glare of Symphony's red-pink eyes, he became ecstatic.  
"You should hurry up and make a decision. I get bored easily." Twig said, readying to leave. He pulled Jackson away by his collar, like a owner and its pet.  
"Hold on, Twig. Where are we going? I have somewhere else to be…" Jackson said in protest as he was pulled from the scene.  
As they both passed Symphony, his stance was stiff with rage. He waited until they rounded the corner of the school building to fall back against its wall of purple. He stank to the ground, putting his elbows to his knees.  
For a moment he allowed himself to feel such fire-y passionate anger, hiding his face anyway. His jaw clenched – he hated that he'd been jealous of Jackson.  
He hated even more that there was a secondary problem he needed to deal with, but wouldn't dare deal with in public.  
"I'm so stupid…" he mumbles to himself, with heart aching.  
He'd been jealous of Jackson, hot for Twig, but sorry for Mortalia.  
He had no idea how she put up with him…

He was wearing a white trench-coat along with white pants, a white shirt that remained unbuttoned, a slim white belt, white boots, and a white fedora hat that gave him a stylish classy edge. With his bold visual elements that seemed to flatter the flying flower behind, he gave off a dreamy sort of Prince Charming vibe. Because of his cold, distant expression and wild untamed mane, he enhanced such a great level of pure urban danger that came off as sexy. And yet still his eyes were somewhere else, somewhere that was not at the photo shoot. It may have turned out well and worked well for the photos, but still. That damped far-off glare created the image of another beautiful flower amongst other flowers, with just a many deadly thorns.  
"Should we take a break now?" Azar asked quietly.  
Symphony gave a slight nod, lifting from his seat on the bench prop he'd been sitting on. His glare of sorrow fierceness washed away and weariness overcame him. In his eyes was true exhaust. He made his way over to Mortalia, walking sluggishly. He took a seat next to her on the batch of fake flowers, sipping his water absent-mindedly. He released a sigh. "Today just isn't a good day, I guess…"  
"I can tell." Mortalia said softly, looking over at him. She put a hand to his, watched as he pulled it away. She looked away, feeling the pain of his sting. "…You don't really look into this photo shoot. Everything okay?"  
"I guess." Symphony replied, followed by another sigh.  
Suddenly Azar was standing in front of them with his hands deep in his pockets and a blank unreadable expression on his face. He stared down at the young couple. He then sighed too. "Mortalia. Go buy us all some cream soda."  
"Sure." Mortalia stood, taking the money he offer. "Be back in a sec."  
Azar nodded, flashing the ghoul a half-grin to show his appreciation. Once she left and he heard the sound of the garage door close, he sat in her seat. "Hey."  
"Yo," Symphony said before taking a long sip of his water.  
"Something is troubling you. I've got a penny if you'll tell me your thoughts." Azar said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a penny, held it up for Symphony to see.  
"I sell them for five bucks." Symphony said behind puckered lips, lifting his knees to his chest. His sat his chin to his knees.  
Azar put away the penny. "Well…that's no good then."  
"Yep. Guess you're out of luck then." Symphony aid, his gaze remaining forward.  
"Photographers," Azar began, loosening his tie. "They're suppose to…you know, have these really great relationships with their models and such. They either sleep with them, or somehow magically become beast friends for life. You know something, kid…it's your choose."  
"Can't we just have a professional relationship and leave it at that?" Symphony sighed, shutting his eyes.  
"Nope. Sorry. Guess you out of luck." Azar replied smugly, throwing Symphony's word back at him.  
"Alright fine," Symphony said, turning his head to the admired photographer. "Let's just magically become beast friends forever all of sudden."  
"Alright," Azar gave a lazy shrug. "So kitten, tell me your problems."  
"His name is Twig," Symphony said, returning his head forward. "I fell in love, he screwed my brains out, moved on, left me for dead. And that's just how our story goes. But…I'm still in love now, two years later and in my junior year. Mortalia knew about Twig, knows now. She foolishly accepts my feeling, trying to make me forget Twig and love her. She says she'll stay by my side, but will she? Can she stay by my side so loyally like that? I don't know. I'm hopeless really…but I'm not alone. As she's said before: she's in love with a fool, and I'm the fool in love. But really…I think our roles have switched now."  
"So she's the fool who in love and you're…you're just in love with a fool. I can see how you'd get that result." Azar said, falling back against the fake flowers. Really, all this drama was a little too heavy to take on. "Continue. Does Twig like you?"  
Symphony's gaze became soft. "I've gone over this with Mortalia so many times…it feels so weird to go over this with anyone else. But I guess…I have no choice but to tell you, right? Well, you see, Twig doesn't _like_ anyone. He'll take from them what he wants then drops them like they didn't exist. That's the kind of guy he is. If he's bored, and if maybe you're lucky, he'll come to seek you out and have a little fun. But that's it, there's never any emotional attachment. Well…expect for…this one guy."  
"This one guy?" Azar repeated.  
"Jackson, you've met him…only he was Holt at the time. Jackson, he's kind of more than a fling for Twig – I can see it in his eyes. He doesn't know what his heart is doing. He only gets violet with Jackson...because when someone like him is crushing, he's the one to get crushed. He's greedy, and he wants to say that way. But his heart...I guess it won't give him that option. For him it's all really scary right now, to actually find out he has a heart..."  
"I see." Azar spoke quietly. "Holt explained this all to me a while ago, about being part Monster and part Normie – or Dork, as he says. He says Jackson is dork, an artist, and just a bit too sensitive for his taste so doubt he'll be able to get along with him. But he told…Jackson was simple, not complex and so he could come to an understanding with the guy. He sounds pretty submissive to me, passive even. So I guess that's this Twig guy's type?"  
"He also has a thing for Werewolves…" Symphony mumbled.  
Azar blinked, pausing for a moment. He then glanced over at the saddened Symphony. "Well then…you're shit out of luck, aren't you?"  
Symphony gave a nod. "I can be everyone else's type…but not his _specific _type. It's not fair."  
"Too bad, kid." Azar stood. He bent forward, giving Symphony's head a good slap. "At least you're Mortalia's type, right? That counts for something."  
"Yeah, you've got a good point." Symphony said with a sad smile and gentle eyes.  
Azar sighed, going back over to his camera. His began to toy around with it as he usually did during breaks. "Screw your head on, kid. Nothing comes from holding onto a one-sided love, your flame burned out so just accept it. You have someone who loves you, so you're one of lucky ones."  
"Yeah…" Symphony said, squinting his eyes. "…You're right."  
"'Course I am." Azar turned around to give him a look, a chocolate bar hanging from his mouth. "Now stop sulking."

_Author's Note: _

_Not really sure where I was going with this chapter to be honest. _

_Just sorta wrote it, and yeah. . .this is the turnout. _

_Me writes something awesome later for sake of fans I have shamed. . . =_=""_


	29. Chapter 28

*{Chapter 28}

"I don't understand," Mortalia said, speaking softly as her grey-white hand found the silver necklace resting comfortably against her chest and purple shirt attire. Her fingers, with the black French-tip nails that complicated her delicate hands, played with the silver ball in the middle of the necklace, spinning it curiously. "It's so pretty…but so simple. Why?"  
"You wouldn't wear it unless it was simple, right?" Symphony teased with a playful quiet tone, stepping closer to her. He hugged her from behind, wrapping his arms easily around her shoulders.  
Mortalia gave a nod to serve as her answer, her eyes finding the blue sea of flowers before her that hasn't too far from her brown sandaled feet.  
When she blinked two cold tears fell from her eyes, traveled down her rosy cheek. "You're right."  
Symphony's arms crossed themselves, releasing their hold on Mortalia. His hands found her naked shoulders. His grip was strong.  
Weakly he put his head against her revealed back. "Mortalia…"  
"You don't have to say it." Mortalia offered, choked somewhat on her words. Her jaw clenched when more tears blurred her vision of her ankle-length purple shirt with the gold ring that pieced together that shirt and skinny purple straps that needed tying around the neck.  
Symphony's arms fell from Mortalia's shoulders, snaked around her waist and hugged onto her stomach. "But shouldn't I?"  
Mortalia shook her head, grabbing his lower arms with a tight grip. She held onto them for support, hanging her head as it shook. Straightened strands of dark purple fell, shielding her tear stained face. "No…you don't have to say it…I already know."  
"But you have to hear it from me, don't you?" Symphony asked, his heart aching with dread and guilt for what he'd done.  
"I don't care if it's true," Mortalia said, her black French-tip nails now stabbing into Symphony's arm. "So please…you don't have to say it."  
Symphony's hands curled into fists, his short nails stabbing at the middle of his hands. He shut his eyes tightly. "I'll hold you capture until you listen. You have to…you've got to face reality and listen to me. You have to_ hear _what I've got to say, and hear it from only me and no one else."  
Mortalia shook her head more violently. "I don't want to hear it anymore! I've already heard it from all those other monsters…they kept whispering it and creating rumors. I told you…I don't care…if it's true. So, don't say it. I don't want to hear!"  
"I cheated on you," Symphony uttered, delivering words that were thick with guilt and weak with regret.  
Mortalia was quick to cover her ears, protecting them with her grey-white hands before Symphony's words could penetrate her ears and sink in. She shook her head, refusing to let those very words engrave themselves in her thoughts. "Please, don't say it…That's enough, don't say it anymore, I don't want to hear it again!"  
"Mortalia," Symphony said, releasing her once more. He grabbed her hands, tried to remove them. "You have to listen…listen so that you can embrace the truth. You have to, you can't be like this: you're not a child anymore. Come on…we have to do something…"  
Mortalia struggled, fighting to keep her hands covered over her ears. "No, I don't want to hear! I don't want to listen. It's not true-"  
"But it is and you know it." Symphony said, making sure she could hear. "I cheated on you and its true, everything and every rumor you've heard is true!"  
"Stop it!" Mortalia said, pain quick dissolving in heart and causing a massive epidemic of inflicted damage. The soreness of being betrayed began to spread, eating away at her heart. "Stop it…please! Saying it will make it true. And I…I don't want to…"  
Symphony let out, watching as Mortalia surrendered. She removed her hands that were now shaking. She used them to cover her face as she cried. As she lowered to sit on her ankles, Symphony did too, lowering at her side. He consumed her in his arms, wrapping them around her with great care. "Mortalia…I'm sorry."  
"It's not fair…" Mortalia said, her words soaked and smothered behind her shaking hands. Her head shook somewhat. "…I knew it. I knew you would and I tried to prepare myself…but it didn't work. I tried my best to understand your situation and just smile, but…it's not fair."  
Symphony fell over, landing on his bottom. He glanced at the clenched fists lightly hitting his now revealed white chest from his hoodie being unzipped. The hood surrounded his face, as if representing his shame in his actions. For a moment, his teeth pressed together tightly.  
"Such a fool…I never asked you to be understanding of my situation. It was you…you're the one who stayed by my side. I never…"  
"You didn't have to ask because I could tell that you _wanted _me to! You were the one who said for us to continue." Mortalia said through her sobs. She shut her eyes tightly, as if to stop the tears that still fell, continuing to pound on Symphony's chest.  
"How do you know I needed you to?" Symphony suddenly yelled, causing her to stop. She didn't open her eyes, but instead resting her bottom to the ground with her legs folding behind her and her hands covering her mouth. She refused to open her eyes, knowing it would bring more tears. Symphony's eyes twitched for a moment, tears of his own threatening to fall. He prepared himself. "How did you truly know that I needed you to chase after me like you did? Want and need are two different things…and sometimes we what want isn't what we need. What made you think I needed you?"  
"You wouldn't have said such words if you didn't need a fool like me to chase after you, to wait on you and love you!" Mortalia said, suddenly grabbing onto Symphony and causing them to fall back. She clung to him, her stomach touching his. She wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I had been so impatient waiting for you to say that you'd at least try to love me and forget him…I had been waiting for so long and then you said them. Said them like you meant them. That's how I know that even if you hadn't _wanted _me to be like this, you _needed _me to. And so I've willingly become like this…just for you, because I love _you_. I tried so hard to understand, I wasn't the only one in your heart – truthfully I never was. But it's become so very hard now. What do I do? I want so badly to walk away, but I can't leave you alone."  
"Such a fool…what have you done? Becoming so love bitten like this. You're such a bad girl, promising that even if I didn't love you, you wouldn't care." Symphony said, being reminded of the day they reunited.  
Mortalia hid in Symphony's neck, crying freely. "I know, it's selfish to get angry like this, but I have to. If I don't I won't be being honest with myself. It's because I love you that I have to be like this! My heart can't allow me to stand back and let you be with someone else. It's so selfish…"  
"But it's such a lovely heart, so pretty and so pure." Symphony whispered, truly thankful that he was loved so greatly. Thankful that Mortalia had enough sense to get angry and that she loved him enough to feel such strong anger. Truly, such a beautiful love that blossom in her was something he was absolutely thankful for. "Please, be angry with me. Hit me, scream to the top of your lungs. Please, go ahead. This way I can be certain that you care, that you're putting your all in whatever we've created. Your feelings will reach me, I promise."  
Mortalia sat up, began to hit his chest again. Still her fists hit lightly. She let herself cry as she hit him. "You jerk! Scum, loser…you total piece of crap! I…I love you, what's the matter with you? How dare you cheat on me? Do you have any idea how _great _of a ghoul I am? I accepted you even when I was jealous of you. I gave you acceptance and memories. Is that not enough to keep you? Well? Is it? No, I don't want to even hear your answer because I know it isn't. But I also gave you love…sweet, beautiful…_warm_ love! Is it that you need my body as well?"  
Symphony took the fists that were hitting him, taking both Mortalia's wrist and holding them with one hand. He used the other to reach towards her, press against the back of her head. He pulled her closer, closer and closer until their lips met. When her head lifted a bit, he sniffed.  
Somehow a smile found his face. "We don't have to…we don't have to be that kind of couple. I don't care."  
Mortalia lowed, placing another kiss to Symphony's lips. When she leaned away, her tears dropped to Symphony's cheek. "Idiot…you say that, but you have no idea how I feel. Sometimes I think…maybe we should just be that type of couple, one that is togetheron such an intimate basis because…my heart is still so lonely…even though it's hand-and-hand with your heart, it's still so very lonely!"  
"Mortalia, I had no idea…" Symphony mumbled.  
Mortalia fell back against Symphony, turned her head so that her face couldn't be seen. Her single ball silver necklace rested between them. "I know…why would you? I never speak of such sensitive things because I thought it would dishonor my oath as an understanding ghoulfriend. I thought being by you, near and with you was enough…but I started wanting so much more. But you started to reject me. I wanted to tell you what I was feeling…but how could I? Your heart, it still isn't resolved. You still long for him with a deep passion. I can't say if it's love or not, but you want him. And so…I can't express these feelings, and then you…with him…"  
"Damn you," Symphony said, shutting his eyes. He was such an idiot. "I'm drawn to you, attracted to you. And yes, I do love him even still. Enough to betray you. But it was because you…these doubts and questions I have. Why, _how _could you stay near me? How did you tolerate me? And…how far could I go without passing your limits while allowing myself such pleasantries? Would I…go to such lengths with you as well – would we both regret going so far? Would it be better…if I used Twig to satisfy my needs and you to satisfy my heart? Would you leave me if I dare attempted such a bold thing?"  
"Those are stupid question…" Mortalia mumbled. "And I hate you for even asking them. I love you…but to have such an open relationship. Of course I'd try to give in and make it so that my heart lost the battle but still be able to fight the war, but I don't think…I couldn't allow it. But I still wouldn't leave you. I'm a fool, a fool in love. I'd be with you, even if it meant giving myself to you. Just to keep you, I'd do anything! If I could be so selfish, I'd let you have my all if only so that he couldn't have you. I think…that would be the final result."  
"Mortalia…don't say such unwise things." Symphony sighed. He wasn't worth giving something like _that_ up for.  
"I mean it, you know…" Mortalia whispered. "You can have me, if you'll take me. If it's to satisfy your _needs_, I'd be glad to…"  
"Shut up," Symphony said, his voice infused with bitterness. "Having sex with me won't help you get back at Twig or make me love you."  
"I know that." Mortalia stated. "But if somehow…being with you could help me somehow gain something he's got and I don't…then I want to, with you. I want to even the score, or at least alter it by just a little. I don't want to lose you. I want to love you selfish and make you love me back. So…let me at least try."  
Symphony's face blushed red, as he guess Mortalia's did. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Mortalia, there is no score. What in the world are you keeping track of?"  
"There may not be a score, but I'm still losing your heart." Mortalia whisper, her tone defeated.  
"Having sex won't help. You know that, you said so yourself. Stop being so foolish." Symphony looked away, feeling awkward.  
Since when would a shy ghoul like Mortalia throw herself at him?  
"Symphony," Mortalia said softly. "I want you to leave some trace of evidence that you at least felt _some _type of feelings for me. I want us to share something and be linked together so that I will never forget when I lose. If I lose you to Twig…I want to have no regrets. So please…"  
"Mortalia…we can't." Symphony said, grabbing Mortalia's arm to lift her as he sat up. She sat to the ground as he forced his eyes away. "I'd feel like a lowlife if you let me do such a thing to you after what I did."  
"I don't care anymore!" Mortalia suddenly yelled. "Cheat on me, love him who is not me, abandon my feelings and be so self-centered enough to care only about yours…just…please, I want to remember this love even if it's a bad one that will go sour later on. I want to remember my first one and think back to perfect moments like these. _Be _with me so that later on I can still recall these emotions without hating you."  
Symphony leaned close to Mortalia, cradling her cheeks between his hands. He heart beat fast with the want to be with Mortalia and teenage hormones that were unforgivable, his frown settling deeply from shame.  
He swallowed hard. "What is this?" he asked quietly. "Why couldn't we just make a decision on whether or not we wanted to try to work this through or end it all?"  
"Because I don't want to decide to leave you again." Mortalia whispered, resting her hands to Symphony's chest. Her eyes searched his eyes, found something like gentle love or possibly deep caring rooted in them.  
Symphony, now inches from Mortalia, met her eyes. "I'm so very shameful…and because of this, you are too."  
"Shame, is such an ugly feeling. But the love in my heart is telling me that maybe…it can be beautiful too." Mortalia whispered, a sad smile on her face. A heavy pressure caused an aching pain in her heart.  
She had been mentally prepared, but was she emotionally?  
"Don't speak of such nonsense. Shame is forever an ugly feeling." Symphony said before bringing his lips to hers. Their kiss exploded into sorrowful passion, a sad tenderness that was both passionate and yet careful. Their hands moved cautiously, wrapping around each other.  
Would they continue even if one was a fool and the other had a heart that wasn't resolved? How serious would the couple get?


	30. Chapter 29

*{Chapter 29}

"Don't you look lovely, young master?" Sebastian said, his lips pressed lightly to Symphony's right ear.  
At the disturbing, mischievous soft chuckle from Sebastian, Symphony's eyes fluttered open slowly. With this first glimpse he caught sight of a white face, a white face being confined by a thin mask of white blush powder. The white face, covered by white blush all over, had been highlighted with shades of a meek nude pink that painted swollen Angelina Jolie lips and thick bold black lines that swept magnified lashes in a trance that surrounded eyes and flattered their large round shape. The white face had been intensified; smooth light sandy brown blusher had been applied to the temples of the face and smeared downwards towards the apples of the cheeks. The eyes of the white face had been captured by shades of a deep passionate hot pink. Making the eyelids known was a soft shade of creamy eggnog that smoothed under the hot pink and coexisted exotically. Symphony, who had held his breath as he watched the white face painted with skillful epic hands in wonderment with a hard, and yet dazed gaze, suddenly felt his heart stir. In that moment it bated soundly, speedily. He became conscious of that fast beating heart, acknowledging it through the still beautiful face of the person before him. His eyes bored into the eyes of that person. One eye red with hot pink moving about and the other like a highway, both abstract.  
"Is that…really me?" he said, breathlessly astounded.  
Sebastian continued to chuckle softly, laughing at his words. He moved forward, putting his cheek to Symphony's causing him to lean against Symphony as he stood above him. He caressed the young demon's cheek with his own, aware of his hungry attraction towards Symphony's soul. When he opened his eyes, both were that same red with an infectious hot pink. The butler toyed with the young demon's hair of navy blue, his fingers becoming tangled in the loose curls. His hunger grew at the boy's distance and blank expression.  
"Young master…" he said darkly, his lips watering. "You're beautiful."  
Symphony's abstract eyes found the butler in the mirror. He could sense the butler's strong carving to eat his soul. Somehow he grew grateful to his father, Ceil, for his demon species created seventy percent of his being.  
This way he could be sure he wouldn't be devoured…  
"Are you saying that because I've awoken my demon side almost completely?" Symphony spoke quietly.  
The butler's smile was wide, dark and sinister. "Yes, young master. Because of this…you've become so beautiful."  
Symphony looked back at the him in the mirror, dared to stare at his now permit red with hot pink eye. It would stay like this at least until he reached his potential and fully devoured the soul of a human, in which case both eyes would take on such a form and once he'd taken the soul they would appear now once more.  
An upsetting feeling took shelter in his stomach. Like his ill-fated mother, he had not been one to want to devour souls no matter how much he'd needed to in order to survive. "Sebbie-chan…I've begun the transformation, haven't I?"  
"That you have," the butler answered, delighted. His expression darkened. "You've now scratched the surface, young master."  
Symphony tilted his head upward, his eyes lifting to his faithful butler. He grew anxious under such heavy anticipation. "What if…I can't devour souls? What if I end up like my mother?"  
Sebastian, alarmed by the sudden hand touching him, flinched around. His teeth revealed viciously in a snarl and eyes dangerously wide.  
"Um. Hey. Is the model ready yet?" Azar asked, a chocolate bar hanging from his mouth and his expression blank with fearlessness.  
Sebastian offered a shameless, tight angel's smile that was wide and hid his teeth. "Ah, yes, right, you do have a job to do. Please, take him. He is prepared."  
"_Good_." Azar said, giving the cheeky demon a hard stare.  
Symphony jumped from his seat, appearing behind his butler. "Uh, sorry for the wait, we were discussing something…"  
"Sure, now let's get to work." Azar nodded, taking a bite of his chocolate.  
Symphony gave a ready nod, following the trusted photographer. He walked with sass in open toe white heels that abandoned glitter as he stepped. He held onto the long white train of his dress, finding it similar to one of those loofah sponges he saw in Mortalia's bathroom.  
Mortalia smiled at hi softly, her eyes narrowed as she approached him. "Wow…pretty."  
"Pretty, huh? Funny. When I'm with you, I suddenly feel like I need to become a man – and fast. But I ended up becoming a bride." Symphony said, glancing down at his costume made wedding dress. The short loofah-like skirt revealed long legs, molded slender with a well-defined shape and a loofah-like train that dapped alongside such legs and past them. His hourglass framework that resulted from having the metabolism of a Greek god, had been revealed to the public that would see it, hidden behind lace. The white part of the dress that covered somewhat of his chest had a split down the middle that stopped where the lace torso of the dress began. The straps on his board naked shoulders were thin.  
Symphony blushed, wondering how he could find the courage to face someone he loved in this form.  
"It should be fine," Mortalia said with a cool handsome grin, her eyes still narrowed. Symphony lifted his abstract eyes to her worriedly. "Although I've never dated a man so beautiful with such feminine appeal and charm, I'm use to it now. In fact, with someone like you I can't help but expect it. You are who you are and the female you is just another side of you. I get that, so I can easily accept such a feminine male bride. There's no rush for you show your masculine side: I can do that for you instead."  
Symphony gazed at his ghoulfriend lovingly, finding it darling how manly she looked before him, giving off such a cool aura. Truly it was as if their sexes had switched. "Well then…I'm glad to hear that…and if the possibility that you'll have to accept such a feminine bride becomes high, then I'll gladly accept a masculine husband."  
"Good, 'cause I'm a damn hot groom…but without you I can't be me." Mortalia said, her hand finding a mess of navy blue curls. She pulled Symphony forward by the back of his skull, smashing her lips to his.  
Suddenly she felt invincible, proud to be wearing her jet black tuxedo shorts suit with the wrinkleless high-waisted shorts with the creases, long-sleeved dress suit that flooded over those shorts just slightly, thin black tie, and matching jet black tuxedo jacket. She was thankful that she didn't have to stretch on her toes, thanks to her black pumps with the skinny ankle strap as she kissed her lover tenderly with great care. Having control put her in the dominant overconfident mindset she needed for the shoot.  
The snapping of a photo being taken told her so.  
"Your fans will love this." Azar said from behind his camera that stood tall, amused by the strange couple and their strange love.  
"The better, it's not every day I get to be a hot groom to a sexy bride." Mortalia winked at him. Symphony said to himself when she fled from him, going over to tease/talk to Azar. He felt that vain pride he stood on washing over him, prickling over his white freckled skin. He chuckled, wondering where it had gone to begin with.  
He strutted over to his hot groom, began to toy with the back of her hair. He liked how it was styled, curled to shape her face and such. He smiled at her. "Should we get this thing started?"  
"I think we should," Mortalia gave a nod. "But before that…"  
Symphony watched confusedly as she nodded to Azar. He blinked his eyes over to him. "The veil, and then there's also one more thing we need to do."  
Symphony shrugged. "Sure thing."  
"Don't move, alright? Those loose curls took hours with your hair." Azar said with a mocking grin as he reached for the white veil sitting on the seat beside him. Like the dress it was indeed white with a comb on the side for placement (surrounded by white feathers) and a somewhat cage-like "fence" that would cover over half the face. He slowly placed it on Symphony, making sure those eyes could be properly seen.  
"Lookin' good?" Symphony asked, turning to Mortalia, his head slightly sitting to the side.  
"Lookin' good." Mortalia said, giving him a thumbs-up. "And now…"  
"And now?" Symphony questioned. He watched as Mortalia unlinked the necklace he'd given her from around her neck and placed it around his neck. She re-linked it, offering a cool grin.  
"Ready to get married?"

* * *

Azazel huffed, blowing breath through his nose angrily.  
"What's up, big bro?" Mortalia asked, flopping down next to him. She sank into the couch, crossing her legs at the knee. Her arms folded lazily across her stomach, an all too peaceful expression on her face.  
Azazel gave her a look and scooted over, crossing his arms over his torso. His eyes flicked back to the muted television before him. "_Gross_."  
"What is?" Symphony asked, taking stance in front of the TV. He put his hands to his side, his head tilted.  
Azazel glared. "_You're _gross, _freak_."  
Symphony raised a brow. "Excuse me?"  
"Don't you feel ashamed for having no manhood?" Azazel said with a not so friendly smile. "I mean really, look at you…you're a guy in a dress. I though you said _boys_ shouldn't be so _pretty_."  
"What crawled up your butt?" Mortalia said, giving her older brother a look of anger.  
"It's fine." Symphony said.  
Mortalia looked at him with squinted eyes, something like panic settling. With loose curls of navy blue falling over his face, distant eyes, and a smile of complete delusional peace, Mortalia grew fearful.  
Before she had the chance to respond to his crazed expression, everything seemed to change in an instant, without her eyes having caught anything.  
Suddenly, without warning, Symphony was on the wooden coffee that sat in front of the couch, on all fours and one hand clenching tightly onto Azazel's shirt collar. As for Azazel himself, he'd been forced to lean forward, a frightened/startled expression his face.  
Mortalia looked at Symphony, the whole scene being paused. She felt as if her heart had skipped a beat.  
"Should I…_stain _your soul for such harsh words?" Symphony asked kindly, darkly with a grim smile on his face. His eyes remained distant, as if somehow lost.  
"Stain…what?" Azazel said, breathless from fear.  
"Young master," a voice sounded, pleased. All eyes turned to Symphony's butler in black. "Should we take our leave?"  
Symphony stared with wild eyes at the butler for a moment, transfixed. "Take…our…leave?"  
"Yes, young master. Take. Our. Leave." The butler said with a sweetly grim smile that Mortalia instant goose bumps. "Now then. Come to me, young master so that we may leave."  
Symphony, without hesitation or a trance of self-control in his eyes stood from the coffee table, making his way towards the butler. Once her was close enough to him, he collapsed, dropping forward in his arms.  
Mortalia took notice, he had fainted.  
"What just…?" Azazel said, still sitting in the same position.  
"My young master…is just hungry. I'm sorry for his behavior." The butler said with the same he'd given Azar. And then he smiled fell and he gave Mortalia a hard stare. "He is going through Change. We…will not return here for some time."  
Mortalia eyes widened at his words. She stood just as the butler picked up Symphony like a real bride and began to walk off. For a moment she put a hand to her racing heart, understanding just what he meant.  
For a second she lost her footing, her senses switching OFF. She fell to the couch, taking a deep breath to make sure she was living.  
The day in that sea of blue came back to her all of a sudden.  
"A barking dog would do well to hold his tongue in a bad neighborhood." Azar said suddenly. Mortalia looked up to him, saw that he'd been watching her with cold eyes.

_Author's Note: _

_Just because I thought it would be nice to have these here, here are some references.  
__Link to Symphony's dress: __ www . simplelove2u wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Short-Wedding-Dresses . jpg_

_Link to Mortalia's shorts tuxedo suit: web001 . whowhatwear blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/THE-STREET-MUSE-MELANIE-GALEA-ELLE-MILAN-12-FASHION-WEEK-GALA-GONZALEZ-AMLUL-WHITE-SHADES-SUNGLASSES-COAT-JACKET-OVER-SHOULDERS-SHORT-SUIT-CLUTCH-BLAZER-BUTTON-UP-STREET-STYLE . jpg _

_Link to Symphony's hairstyle: weddinghairstylesblog wp-content/plugins/jobber-import-articles/photos/136475-beautiful-wedding-hair-styles . jpg_

_Link to Mortalia's hair: i2 . squidoocdn resize/squidoo_images/-1/draft_1274019789Bridal-hairstyles . jpg_


	31. Chapter 30

*{Chapter 30}

"This way, young miss." The cheeky butler said with a shifty, sickeningly sweet wide grin. "Please, follow me."  
"Yes, of course…" Mortalia mumbled, nodding her thanks as she walked ahead through the threshold that was the upside down U doorway of the Phantomhive home. The butler, along she had passed him, remained bent over, his head lowered and arm extended. His eyes had been closed.  
Mortalia stopped after having taken less than three steps against the reflective dark wooden floor and paused, her lips parted.  
The setting had been transformed. Now opposite to her, instead of being a dark brown wooden coach that varies pillows of all sized sat all in front of a large window, there was now in its place a bland burnt tofu chaise lounge chair with no pillows sitting about sat on fine dark wooden legs. The large window that was usually opened was now closed.  
And yet still there was a chill about…  
"I begged the young master not to buy such _distasteful _furnishing, but he refused to consider my words." The butler said, appearing beside Mortalia. Just as she had been doing, he stared at the closed window. "He says it's comfortable, and so he bought…_this_. He usually prefers his naps here."  
"I see…" Mortalia said quietly, wondering where distasteful could be found in such a beautiful piece. She remained dazed by the piece as the butler stared hard at her face and posture.  
"Well then…" the butler in black said, taking a step back and extending his arm to the side. "He should be there, behind that place. Please excuse my no longer being able to escort you, I do believe I must serve the tea."  
Mortalia gave a nod, lowering her eyes to the reflective dark wood. She saw her unconfident self, behind her were wavering shadows of darkness that she was thankful did not appear due her being able to control them. "It's okay…I, um…I don't mind. After all…you make really good tea."  
Butler gave a tight grin. "Why yes, of course, young miss. Please, excuse me."  
Mortalia nodded once more, now lifting her eyes to see him leave. She watched as he walked forward and then turned right and jogged up reflective dark wooden brown steps that had been complimented by a narrow unending blue carpet. Mortalia stood there for a moment, wondering if the kitchen had been in that direction.  
Certainly, if so, then that only made things stranger.  
She then proceed to move forward, deeper into the home. She looked left, taking note of the dark wood table and mirror that hung above it that was near the upside U doorway. As she took slow steps, she took note of the large dark wooden closet that had glass windows. It sheltered stainless fine china and silverware. A rug, she noticed that had now been under her feet, was the same blue and led to the steps from the closet of fine china. She stopped, looking around more. Before her feet was a stage of dark wood, reflective like the rest. On it lay countless petals of blue flowers. On that stage of reflective dark brown was what looked like a window seat and on that window seat was a purple toy horse, plastic and unable to bend. To Mortalia's left, next to the closet, was a door.  
Had this been the place the butler in black spoke of?  
"Maybe…maybe not…" Mortalia mumbled to herself, unsure as she clutched the strap of worn brown shoulder bag.  
"Pluto, you're being greedy again." A voice sounded, muffled and yet still heard. Mortalia's head turned to the tallest main window above the window seat, her ears knowing the voice well.  
She recognized it, of course, knowing it had been Symphony's.  
She put a knee to the window seat, leaning forward to look out so that she could gaze at the scene before her. She stared. Before her was transparent fabric. Black. Oversized. Decorated with silver. Shielding over white flesh. Then there were black commando shorts she knew well, leggy legs of white appearing from them. And then there were boots. Black. Leather. Ankle high. Heelless, curved. From where she was placed and from how Symphony sat with his legs tucked to his side, she could see the gleaming silver horseshoe that had been at the bottom of such boots.  
Blazing orange with a burnt orange tint washed over his broad bony shoulders freely, blowing towards her because of the wind.  
She watched, silent and staring hard at Symphony's back as the scene played out.  
Sitting next to Symphony was a man, taller than him with beautiful lavish silver hair and cream white skin. He sat next to Symphony, clothed in a black short-sleeved t-shirt and free-flowing black pants covering his legs. He sat comfortable, his head of long grey waves lying against Symphony's shoulder that could be seen through transparent black.  
As if sensing Mortalia's presence from afar, he sat up, his head jerked around and eyes searching in her direction. She lowered almost instantly, lying on the window seat so that she could not be seen. She listened. After a moment she got up, sure that his attention had now returned to Symphony.  
"Last one, and then we'll have some tea, okay?" Symphony spoke, his tone somewhat energetic, sounding rested.  
The boy nodded excitedly, his eyes wide. Symphony gave a giggle, reaching for the white plate beside him. He grabbed what looked like a brown treat of some sort and placed it between his lips.  
Mortalia watched, feeling something like numbness as she observed the boy leaning forward, placing his lips to the snack as well. Suddenly the boy pounced forward, taking a huge bite, bringing his lips to Symphony's without warning. They fell back in result. On Symphony's face was a expression of tiredness and still peace.  
"Really…" he spoke.  
The boy lifted enough so that his face could be seen and offered an animated smile, which caused Symphony to cover his mouth, turning his head away as he laughed freely, comfortably. The boy leaned closer to Symphony, giving his cheek a lick.  
"Gross, stop it." Symphony said playfully, one eyes winked closed behind thick black square glasses. The boy, ignoring him, continued to lick Symphony's face. Mortalia sat on the window seat, wondering…  
What was it she had been watching?  
"Young miss," the butler said from behind her. "If I could so impolitely request your assistance…"  
She gave a simple nod, still watching the scene before her. The boy clung to Symphony, wrapping the young demon in his arms and licking him. Symphony remained giggling. "Yeah…sure…"  
The butler in back narrowed his eyes as she turned to him, an expression of blank sadness on her sleepy face. He smiled. Wide. Questionably. Cheekily. He handed to her what was a tray of silver and two vanilla shaded cups of steamed soft brown tea along with a vanilla shaded miniature teapot and silver spoons. She took it willingly. "If you will follow me."  
"Sure…of course…" Mortalia replied. Sitting on his tray were two vanilla plates of brown treats that had been marked with a darker brown symbol of an animal's paw. She dared not to react.  
Instead she followed behind him blindly, without being aware of what she had been doing.  
Like the butler in black she climbed through the tallest of windows above the window seat. She hopped to the ground, fumbling forward and somehow not spilling the tea.  
Her brain wanted to wonder why they'd gone such a way, but the thought didn't compute. The scene from earlier distracted her train of thought.  
"Young master, I must say, getting comfortable, aren't we?" the butler asked mockingly, his eyes drifted to the side as if he could see the dazed Mortalia standing behind him.  
Symphony's red and hot pink eyes stared past the butler, to Mortalia. He had seemed frozen until the licking of boy unfroze him. "Enough already." He said, pushing the boy off of him.  
The boy smiled, removing himself. Once Sebastian was spotted, along with the plate of treats, he'd hoisted himself from the ground and pranced towards the butler. He clung to him as well, overly joyful to see him.  
Symphony stood. "Mortalia…hey, it's been a while."

"Ah, so that…was Pluto?" Mortalia asked quietly, nibbling on her chocolate flavored treat of sweetness.  
Symphony nodded, watching as Sebastian struggled to put a red leash on the silver haired demon dog in human form in the distance. He laughed softly. "Yep, that was Pluto. He can be a little…"  
"Playful," Mortalia said, finishing his sentence. "I saw early…there, from the window seat."  
"I see." Symphony blinked, sipping his tea slowly. Harsh wind blew between them as he did. "…It's getting cold."  
"Should we go inside?" Mortalia said, now lifting her eyes to him.  
He stared out at the grassy hill that stood tall before his private beach of white. He gave his head a shake. "It's relaxing here."  
"I see." Mortalia said, staring now too at the beautiful setting before her.  
"So…aren't you going to ask?"  
Mortalia's eyes narrowed, peering over to Symphony. She removed her cup of tea from her lips, held it securely in her hands. "I…if you'll tell me…only then would I find the courage to ask."  
"I will tell you if you'll listen." Symphony muttered quietly, sipping his tea once more.  
"Then…your eyes…both of them are now the same, no longer like a highway. Why is that?" Mortalia spoke softly.  
"I ate the soul of an elderly dying man." Symphony said bluntly.  
There was a pause. A pause that allowed cold wind to rush past them.  
"I…see. That is…unforgivable." Mortalia said, sitting her cup back to its saucer. She stood, preparing to rush off while even ignoring the slight stain of dirt on her black lacy dress and black tights.  
Before she could escape, Symphony had grabbed her wrist. She did not turn to him, as if ashamed. She hung her head.  
"Is that so?" symphony asked, his tone frightful and sorrowful. "And why, may I ask, is such unforgivable?"  
Another pause hung between them.  
"Symphony…you _ate _someone's _soul_ – almost _my _soul…in fact you ate half of it. I…can still remember that horrified look on your face that day. To eat my soul…it gave you fear, so…how could you…?"  
"Mortalia…" there was a sigh.  
Mortalia shook her head, causing her hair to slap against her face. "To eat another's soul…they…they can't even live on this earth as ghosts. To do such a cruel thing…you…"  
Symphony's eyes glared at the ground. He knew she couldn't make sense of what she'd been told. He squeezed her wrist tighter, causing her to look back at him. "Mortalia…"  
"You…" she began. Suddenly, with her eyes wide in fear, she struggled to get free. In her eyes was the want to run. "You're a monster!"  
Symphony jerked her forward, taking her in his arms tightly. She didn't dare move. He could smell her fear. She began to sob. "Mortalia…I too have to live. Eating…eating souls…that is what my kind does to gain nutrients, to have a sense of hunger satisfaction. I carve…souls, to me they are food just like the food that you choke down daily!"  
"You…You monster! Murderer!" Mortalia said, daring to test him. She pushed him away, stumbling back. In her eyes was a look of horror as she stared into his demon eyes.  
She wondered, what was this? Never was there a time had she been frightful of Symphony.  
"I…have to survive…too." Symphony said, dropping his eyes. "You think…You think I _like _eating another's soul, making it so that they can never exist? I don't just take their life…but their afterlife as well – in fact for me I treat it as a meal. Why…Why would anyone _like _doing these things?"  
"Symphony…" Mortalia said with pity.  
"I…devour souls, both human and monster alike in order to live. Why would I…? I would never like doing such. But I…I can't be like…"  
"Like who?" Mortalia asked, taking a step closer. She had not noticed her extended hand. Of course with all her heart that loved him so, she had been dreadfully worried.  
"My mother…" Symphony said, his voice and eyes distant. "She is…a female siren, born as such. My father…a demon with human blood in his veins…because of her illness…he created a monster. My mother…loved him, but he felt no affect for such an ill-fated woman, but he took pity on her life. She…she's a demon now too…but… she doesn't…can't…"  
"She doesn't eat souls." Mortalia whispered at her realization, unable to even fathom such an existence.  
"Even though she is no longer ill…she is still dying. My mother, that woman…she's…dying. Starvation. It rots her being and my father…such a man who lives on pride shows no remorse. Shows no need to be forgiven for what he has done. That woman…my flesh, my blood, my reason for existing. Even having been cried for, she will not eat one soul to save her own existence. Like her…I've been like her for so long now, refusing to eat a soul. But I…I can only last so many years." Symphony lifted his head, gave Mortalia a hard stare full of memories that replayed.  
"Symphony!" Mortalia said, running to him. She hugged herself close to him, her arms tight around him. Although she didn't know, she had been crying. Somehow, that numbness washed over her and felt what it was like to be half dead.  
Symphony locked his arms around her for support, for both himself and her as well. Guilt stabbed at him, causing him to choke on his sobs of tears. "I just…I don't understand! How did that woman not go insane? To not eat a single soul…"  
Mortalia stayed quiet, sobbing. She knew that he could understand. He was hungry, but didn't eat. He didn't want to die, so he ate. That much was logical. She knew he could understand his mother's feelings of deep , heavy hatefulness towards being what they were. Demons. Demons that devoured souls whenever they pleased, of course after completing the deal between a human and demon that had to b made before having such a dinner. She knew truly that he was sorry. "Don't…don't blame yourself!"  
"I…I hate myself," the young demon admitted through is sobs. "You're right: I am a murderer… And that woman, she's an angel…"  
"You did well," Mortalia sniffed, rubbing her face against his in attempt to dry both their tears. "I get it…you did so well and tried so hard. You…you must have been so hungry that day…"  
"I couldn't allow myself to take away your pretty soul. So I resisted…such a pretty soul…such a good woman." Symphony said quietly.  
"Thank you," Mortalia said weakly. "Thank you for considering the worth of human souls…"  
"No," Symphony shook his head. "I am just another one of them now. Just a beast behind this skin! Like every other demon I am a beast, a beast who has taken someone's soul…"  
"Please…don't blame yourself. You tried so hard…" Mortalia said, tears slipping yet again. "So hard to value human life. Even if taking one of our souls met benefiting you…filling your hunger…you didn't…you tried not to. Please, believe that you too, like your Mother, are angels."  
"I…can't believe you." Symphony said, barring his face in Mortalia's shoulder. He cried loudly, expressing his pain. Wails and sobs escaped him, expressing the guilt in his heart.  
That rang loud in Mortalia's ear, causing her to share that ache in his chest.

_Author's Note: _

_Wasn't really sure about this chapter. What do you guys think?  
The ending threw me off a bit, perhaps I'll rewrite it? _

_[References below, because I like having them] _

_Symphony's part of the house explained in the story: __ www . bed-and-breakfast-dresden . de/images/Eingang-467-x-410neu . jpg_

_Symphony's shoes (left) (didn't like how I explained them, so reference): www . fabulouslybroke wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ballet-heels-torture-too-high-stiletto . jpg_

_Pluto (actual character from anime Black Butler – which is the anime Symphony is based upon): kuroshitsuji . /wiki/Pluto_

_And for no reason, Symphony's shirt (just because I like the shirt…) (ignore last link, really pointless…): imgs . inkfrog pix/brg/mtslgal . jpg__  
_


	32. Chapter 31

*{Chapter 31}

The walls and every accessory that displayed on shelves, along with any posters and etc, were covered by multiple sheets of white. Like the walls, the floor was covered by white sheets. They had entered, the open door confirming so. Next to the idle Mortalia was an unresponsive Symphony, both wearing expressions of true unreadable nothingness. Before them, as always whenever they found themselves entering the family garage, was a camera that sat secure on its stand. And, as always, behind that camera and its stand was the same familiar photographer, one that seized a bar of solid chocolate between his teeth. And as always, there was a recognizable sound of a _snap_. At the recognizable sounding of that photographer's _snap_, the model displayed before the camera eyes that were both friendly and interactive as it was playful and teasing. It was then that the photographer seemed to notice, seemed to realize at that very moment the model, stripped down to the bone and wearing only skin, had not been staring warmly at the camera that stood on its stand as he had thought. It was then, at that moment, that his body twisted and head turned, his eyes finding the pair who stared hard with questioning eyes.  
He gave an innocent, somewhat cool grin with his same narrowed eyes. His hand lifted in a wave that did not move. "Hey."  
Mortalia, fascinated by the anatomy of the woman she had never seen, dared to gaze past the photographer. "Um…hey there…big bro."  
Symphony too was in awe of the model and her structure. To say she was curvaceous would be an insult. Yes, she had curves, curves that shaped her structure with fine lining that created smooth aspects. And she was substantial, broad, not thin or thick, but accurately substantial with a bold figure that tested to the image of "perfect weight". She was built with fine features, although that would just be a watered down version to define such a full figured body of loveliness.  
"Um…are we…interrupting because I thought…um, Symphony…" Mortalia said faintly, her voice trailing off.  
Like Symphony she had been engrossed by the nakedness of the woman, by the freedom that nakedness empowered her to. Truly it had been distracting, the vast volume of comfort she allowed to be exposed about the enclosed white covered room. The pair of them stared curiously at the woman with a full pin-up figure and soft olive white skin. On her face had been a mask, a jester's mask. It had been white with lips of gold and gold waves that smoothed across the eyes of that mask. On the chin of the mask was a charm, made with five beads, two white and three gold, along with strands of purple string. At the top of this mask was a gold layer that resembles a crown and above that were curled triangles, four green and the one in the middle purple. At the end of those curled triangles were bells. Behind the mask was an explosion of jet black curls that curled one after the other, creating something like overlapping bumpy roads that curl into the number six over and over again. Behind the holes of the mask were gentle, and yet captivatingly wise blue eyes.  
One had to wonder what was the reason for the mask, as well as the nakedness that created an awkward atmosphere about the white covered room…  
"Well, ain't this goin' swimmingly?" Azar said, his smile sharp as he glanced back to the model, still posed before his camera in such a way. "Shall we take five, pretty kitty? I have another appointment."  
"Hmmm, should I make things easier for my lovely-baby?" the model said, standing from her seductive pose. She stood, confident in all her bare glory.  
"It'd be real keen of you if you did, sugar." Azar gave a handsome grin.  
"Alright," she responded, stepping closer with slow steps. She approached Azar, lifting her mask ever so slightly. Revealing loud glossy candy apple red lips, she placed a kiss to his cheek and lowered her mask. "And I guess I should change?"  
"Egg-zactly, gorgeous." Azar answered, staring at her masked face with a certain glazed expression and transfixed eyes that focused only on her.  
"I'll return in just a sec, don't miss me too much." She said, placing a hand to his wide shoulder. For a moment they stood, engrossed by one another, and then her hand slipped and she began to walk again.  
She strutted past Mortalia and Symphony, giving them each observing glances. They stood stiff, careful not to move. Once she had passed, they began to breathe again. Still their eyes were focused forward.  
"_Dinger_," Azar grinned in satisfaction, watching as she swayed to the bathroom.  
"Who…was that?" Symphony mumbled aloud, his voice strangely faint as he was overcome with awe.  
"She is Dolores…Irene, Jean, Ruth, Virginia, Susannah, Margaret, Barbra, Ingrid, Clarissa, Florence, Betty, Francis, Josephine, and Clementine all in one; a real jazzy gal, a real woman who changes her address every other day and lives on troll-a-cola with the world under her feet and lips painted red. She took a shine to me for some reason or other a little while back. And well, it'd be an outright lie if I said I didn't fancy her right back. Well what do the two of you think, isn't she a peach?" Azar said with a soft exaggerated sigh.  
"Well, she's, er, something or other…that's for sure." Mortalia said under her breath, glancing towards the garage bathroom. As she stared at it, unsure what to think of the woman she'd meant, she recalled the model's pose that Azar accepted with a _snap_. She'd been on her back, legs spread and extended into the perfect V, her head falling around her dramatically.  
Mortalia shuddered.  
"Her name…?" Symbolize said, his still pink and red eyes staring intensely at the bathroom door in pure curios fascination.  
"The doll's got too many to count." Azar chuckled softly in admiration of the mysterious woman. Just then the bathroom door swung open and out walked the mysterious woman, her mask still shielding her face. She strutted over to Azar's tall wooden bar stool with the wine red plush cushion, taking a seat as she pleased. She got comfortable, crossing her legs at the knees so that her privates could not be seen and leaning back. She lifted her arms, toying with her midnight curls and taking a breath so deep that her stomach sucked in drastically.  
"Why don't you two take a seat?" she said, hinting at the plush black couch before her with the nod of her chin.  
"Should we?" Mortalia asked, leaning towards Symphony.  
Symphony, with his face blushing a loud red, blinked his eyes away and gave a small nod. Silently, timidly he followed Mortalia to the couch of black. They sat, stiff and frozen.  
"You can address me as Mother," she said boldly. "This is what I am called."  
Symphony stared at the woman, not breathing. He face reddened, he didn't dare move. Mortalia, glancing at him with narrowing eyes, blinked. An upset feeling grew in her stomach, making her something like nervous. She eyes slid over to the woman in black with the midnight black-purple curls.  
Had Symphony been staring so hard because she'd been clothed in such a dress? If so, why would he be surprised? He himself wore transparent clothing all the time – shirts at least. Like her, he'd often exposed his flesh with short and skirts, only she did so with her lengthy arms.  
Mortalia couldn't help but question: was she getting all this attention because of the dress? Because she wore a transparent black dress that molded her frame sleekly and exploded around her, only adding to her mysterious aura. Was it because the dress had at split that went to the upper thigh, or because of its low hem, or possibly it's widely looped sides that started at the shoulder, went to the hip, and looped around the arm again? Mortalia did not know, but either way she did not like it.  
"Is this what she calls _getting changed_?" Mortalia asked, her head jerking towards Azar. "Why is she like this? How old does this woman think we are? And call her _Mother_? Really…And what's with that strange mask?"  
The before lifted chest as she inhaled, folding her arms on her torso. Her gentle wise blue eyes turned feisty. "_Yes_, in fact this _is _what I call _getting changed_. You're lucky I had enough respect to put on clothes to begin with. And as for that tongue of yours…maybe Mother should wash it out with _soap_?"  
"Excuse me?" Mortalia stood, an expression of anger and confusion on her face. "Who do you think you are? You can't talk to me that way!"  
"It's as I said earlier…Mother is only Mother." The woman said, lifting her head and shutting her eyes as Azar's hand found her neck and smoothed to her shoulder. She rested her head to his stomach when he leaned against the arm of the bar stool.  
Symphony, not blinking, breathing, or moving, remained as he was: with his face red – only something had changed in his eyes.  
In his eyes she reflected, as if his eyes were a mirror. In his eyes he saw something like a true phenomenon. Mortalia looked away, her hands in tight fist as she folded her arms. Who was this woman?  
"Mortalia," Azar said softly, for the first time sounding like some cooler older brother that truly cared for his younger sister. When Mortalia looked his way, he gave a kind smile. "You should be nicer to Mother. Don't treat her like a crook, the only thing she's guilty of is stealing my heart without permission."  
The woman's eyes meant Azar, she gave a loving gaze. "Father…"  
Mortalia made a gagging sound. "Gross…"  
"Mortalia!" Azar said with a glare towards his baby sister.  
"It's all swell," the woman said, her eyes on Mortalia. "But these two…are they…?"  
Mortalia's eyes, focused on the floor, peered towards the older couple. She listened, waiting for one of them to break the silence.  
"They are. Aren't you a lucky duck?" Azar offered a cunning smile.  
Mortalia lifted her eyes to him. "They are what?"  
"So which is which today?" the woman asked, standing from her seat. She stepped closer to the younger couple, leaned down to stare at each of their faces. She smiled as if impressed, getting a good look.  
"I don't know, Mother," Azar said quietly, shutting his eyes and reaching behind the couch. Mortalia watched in confusion as he pulled out a mask. Once it had been moved to the direct place in front of his face, he held it there, fluttering open his eyes. "Why don't you ask them yourself?"  
Mother glanced to Azar, her eyes satisfied with his face-wear. He held a mask. A mask that, like hers, was white with golden accents about the eyes. His mask had a break, long and dramatic. "I guess I shall." Mother nodded.  
She turned to Symphony, the boy with the unfaltering stare. Her eyes bored into his. "So tell me…which one are you today…the boyfriend, or maybe…the ghoulfriend?"  
Symphony blinked, swallowing hard. His lips parted, but no words came out. What was it he was suppose to say? What would be his answer?  
"I…I don't…" he said quietly. The woman straightened her postures, gave her curls a toss. She took Symphony's hand, leading him slowly, step by step, from the scene. He followed; engage by her soft steps and enchanting eyes. He watched her face as they walked. Not once did her eyes leave him.  
"You'll follow me…won't you?" she spoke softly.  
Symphony gave a small nod, spellbound by the woman.  
"Hey, wait a sec!" Mortalia said, turning around. "Symphony! Where are you…I mean…"  
"Don't worry," Azar said, resting a hand to Mortalia's shoulder. "I can promise Mother will keep him safe, she protects her children…"  
Mortalia's eyes narrowed as she watched Symphony be led by the strange woman, following behind her like a child, a sleepy somewhat dazed expression on his face. "Who is this woman? What does she want with us…with Symphony? I don't get it."  
"Mother just wishes to protect her children." Azar answered, his voice quiet and sure. Mortalia glanced up to him, seeing the mask on his face.  
He too had become strange. But then again…she didn't know him. Didn't know who he was before or after this. Had he been this type of person?  
Had he always been so strange, did he know many strange people?  
"I…don't get it." Mortalia said bitterly in a whisper.

_Author's Note: _

_Hey guys, introducing a very important character in this story. _

_She goes by Mother, despite all the names that Azar said. She is mostly known as Mother, but can be found by those other names (such a complicated woman, I know). She is very important to this series and will be a big impact later on for this story. At the moment she was an appearing role, sort of coming and going (or you know…she _will _end up having that type of role), but she will probably show up more as the story progresses.  
What kind of woman will she be? Wait to find out.  
_

_References below~_

_Mother's Jester's Mask: __ www . costumeshopper mm5/graphics/00000001/60162 . jpg_

_Azar's Bird Mask: www . themask . nl/WebRoot/Pins/Shops/08011005/4B29/1D04/2127/2A8A/E808/5360/9702/7255/63892_Nasone-Sinfonia-Passamaneria_2 . jpg_

_(The way I pictured this mask for the story was without its original design, just a head's up.)_


	33. Explanation

It's been a while, hasn't it? How are you all? I'm terribly sorry for not doing any updates on my stories. I know it's been a very long time since I've uploaded new chapters, but please continue to be my readers. And please don't hate me!

You see, the reason I haven't done any updating with my stories is due to a lack of inspiration. Writing without inspiration makes me feel like writing is just a job, and in result my stories don't turn out too good. I would hate for you all to have to read stories of mine that lack in an actual story. After all, I want my readers to enjoy my stories and be engaged in them!

So please, try to put up with me not updating for now. I won't stop writing, promise. :)


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